Press Report : Former LDV executive takes on MG sales role

John Cranage, Birmingham Post, 6th October, 2009

Former LDV executive Guy Jones has won a new job at MG Motor UK Limited, the Chinese-owned sports car manufacturer based at Longbridge. He has been appointed Sales and Marketing Director at MG  UK where he will be responsible for UK sales, marketing, public relations, after-sales and brand development.

Mr. Jones was previously Marketing Director at LDV Group Limted, the Birmingham van company that collapsed in June. His appointment was confirmed amid speculation last night that up to 25 jobs at MG’s production line at Longbridge were set to be cut.

In LDV’s final months, Mr. Jones was responsible for launching a daily blog to keep the company’s workforce up to date on efforts to save the company, which at the time was owned by the Russian automotive conglomerate Gaz, run by oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Since June, Administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers have been negotiating with a number of potential candidates to take over the LDV brand and assets and are now believed to be engaged in exclusive talks with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), the ultimate owner of MG.

I am delighted to join MG at the most exciting time in its 85-year history. MG is a much loved iconic British brand that now has SAIC as a proud new owner, capable of developing the brand on a global basis. SAIC are already playing a leading role in China, now the world’s largest car market, and have ambitious global plans for the MG brand. I am looking forward to playing a key role in developing this exciting new business.” Guy Jones, MG Motor UK Limited’s new Sales and Marketing Director

Mr. Jones, who held senior marketing roles at Bentley and Kia before joining LDV, was yesterday quoted by the website MotorTrader.com, as saying: ‘I am delighted to join MG at the most exciting time in its 85-year history. MG is a much loved iconic British brand that now has SAIC as a proud new owner, capable of developing the brand on a global basis. SAIC are already playing a leading role in China, now the world’s largest car market, and have ambitious global plans for the MG brand. I am looking forward to playing a key role in developing this exciting new business.”

Mr. Jones could not be contacted for further comment yesterday. MG builds cars on part of the old MG Rover site at Longbridge after Nanjing Automobile Corporation, which is now part of SAIC, bought the production assets of the failed British carmaker in July, 2005, for £53 million.

MG UK now builds variants of the MG TF sports car at Longbridge, including a special edition designed to celebrate the marque’s 85th Anniversary earlier this year. The most recent registration figures available from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed that the company had sold 184 cars in the UK in the first seven months of this year. MG said it had benefited from the Government-backed Scrappage Scheme for cars and light vans, launched in an attempt to put the brake on plummeting sales experience by virtually all manufacturers in the recession.

[Source: Birmingham Post]

Clive Goldthorp

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.