Press Report : MG name stands proud again at Longbridge

John Revill, Automotive News Europe, 21st January, 2009

Its no longer NAC-MG at Longbridge
It's no longer NAC-MG at Longbridge

The company that runs the remnants of former UK automaker MG Rover has dropped a reference to its Chinese parent from its name. NAC MG UK has changed its name to MG Motor UK to emphasize the MG name, a company spokesman said.

Nanjing Automobile Company or NAC bought MG Rover’s assets in July 2005, three months after the UK’s last domestically owned volume carmaker collapsed through financial difficulties. In December 2007, NAC was bought by its larger Chinese rival SAIC.

Meanwhile, about 30 workers have been laid off at Longbridge. The Chinese-owned company has laid off up to 30 temporary contract workers in the latest blow to manufacturing in the West Midlands industrial heartland of the UK.

MG Motor UK said the name was changed to reinforce the MG brand. “The new name will help strengthen the company’s reputation and re-emergence in the market by emphasizing the already well known MG brand,” the company spokesman said. MG Motor UK is based at the former MG Rover factory in Longbridge, central England.

NAC launched the MG TF LE500 roadster in the UK in September. The two-seater sports car is assembled at Longbridge from kits shipped from China. Last year, the company said it expected to introduce further models to Longbridge in the next three years. No firm export plans have yet been announced.

Meanwhile, about 30 workers have been laid off at Longbridge. The Chinese-owned company has laid off up to 30 temporary contract workers in the latest blow to manufacturing in the West Midlands industrial heartland of the UK.

The lay-offs are among staff who recently transferred from the Shanghai Motor Technical Centre in Leamington Spa – a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAIC/Nanjing – to Longbridge. The firm’s Longbridge workforce now numbers about 380, with 250 transferred from Leamington to add to the 130 already on site.

[Source: Automotive News Europe]

Keith Adams

22 Comments

  1. Sad but can’t see any of this lasting long.When all the ”big” fish are in the sh*t with no way out soon these little players have no hope with this old out dated &over priced model.
    Should have been left to rest in peace with the fall of MG Rover.

  2. i was lookig at a old hillman imp site 3 pictures of the runnig gear with differant bodies ,,one a imp car 2 a clan sports car 3 a van simler to a bedford /susuki rascal light van .a pity the base platform could not be reworked into a rover metro as this would double the range of cars they sell.i could live with another modern verstion of the metro,

  3. Ressurecting the Metro on the running gear of a Hillman Imp! That would certainly give the new Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa a run for their money!

  4. Dropping the NAC name won’t make any difference to the savvy car buyer who knows their brands. Seems like old times are back – leaving a model to run on way past its shelf life. What a sad and sorry state our motoring industry has become.

  5. Shame they forgot to put an “s” on the end of “MG Motor”. Or have they scaled back their plans and will only be making one ?

  6. I was always a fan of Rover cars and all the other companies which were under BL and Roots group. What I have seen in the last 30 years in the British car production was the perfect way of destroying the same!
    The incompetence of the British goverment has shown that it will be no problem to destroy so many car makers.(sad, very sad) (if the building quality by Jaguar will fall in the next two years as it was falling the last three years we will see the same as we have seen by MG-Rover)
    If you have ever had a look in a modern car factory and you will compair it to the picture you will see here, you could only laugh (or cry).
    I will know many small wokshops and car companies in Germany which were really modern. This picture with some new built, olf fashioned MG TF´s could altho be made in an old farmhouse with a pvc flour and a little bit paint on the wall.
    Forgett MG! The production has died in Europe!

  7. This is a very emotive topic – see the thread of views on Autocar’s news story.

    Yes, all car manufacturers are in the shit but MG Motors are starting from practically nothing.if the recovery starts at the end of this year or beginning of next they could be in time for the next boom, but the products can’t be just “Good”, they have to be outstanding and this is where their problems start. This ZS repalcement must have:
    1

  8. This is a very emotive topic – see the thread of views on Autocar’s news story.

    Yes, all car manufacturers are in the shit but MG Motors are starting from practically nothing.if the recovery starts at the end of this year or beginning of next they could be in time for the next boom, but the products can’t be just “Good”, they have to be outstanding and this is where their problems start. This ZS repalcement must have:

    A wide range of engines, petro and diesel, from lowly 1.4 petrol (100bhp) to high performance 2.0 T or 2.5 V6, and diesels with economical and green 100 bhp to at least 2.0l / 140 bhp to compete (if not compete, then compare)with Vauxhall, VW and Ford. PLUS

    A range of gearbox options, from basic 5speed on lower performance models to slick 6 speeders on performance models, PLUS

    Option of DSG Stye twin clutch Auto box, PLUS

    Reliability to rival Japanese models, PLUS

    Warranty to rival Korean models, PLUS

    Build Quality to rival German models, AND

    Drive to rival, well teh new TF.

    that’s not asking too much, is it?
    1

  9. This is a very emotive topic – see the thread of views on Autocar’s news story.

    Yes, all car manufacturers are in the shit but MG Motors are starting from practically nothing.if the recovery starts at the end of this year or beginning of next they could be in time for the next boom, but the products can’t be just “Good”, they have to be outstanding and this is where their problems start. This ZS repalcement must have:

    A wide range of engines, petro and diesel, from lowly 1.4 petrol (100bhp) to high performance 2.0 T or 2.5 V6, and diesels with economical and green 100 bhp to at least 2.0l / 140 bhp to compete (if not compete, then compare)with Vauxhall, VW and Ford. PLUS

    A range of gearbox options, from basic 5speed on lower performance models to slick 6 speeders on performance models, PLUS

    Option of DSG Stye twin clutch Auto box, PLUS

    Reliability to rival Japanese models, PLUS

    Warranty to rival Korean models, PLUS

    Build Quality to rival German models, AND

    Drive to rival, well teh new TF.

    that’s not asking too much, is it?

  10. In what way is the MG TF outdated compared to the born-again MG midget that is the MX5?

    Sure, the ‘experts’ in the media say it’s outdated because the body was first produced in 1995 and their simple brains can’t understand the mechanical changes very well.

    The TF has a very sweet revving motor that’s the lightest in its class by far, has all-round independent suspension and a mid-engine layout. This makes it arguably more advanced than the MX5, which still uses the layout pioneered by Karl Benz in the 19th century!

    The claim that it’s overpriced compared to the MX5 is just plain wrong – the spec of the LE500 is much higher than the MX5 base model that the press have compared it to.

    Add the gadgets to the MX5 and it comes out more expensive than the TF by a good margin.

  11. why did they not use a base chassy like the old hillman imp .pop a car body on.or a 2 seat clan crusader .or even a bedford rascal type van on ,a wide range on one base,

  12. @Steve
    Its less out of date than the Ford KA, but no one seems to slag that off as out of date. Its fundementally more advanced a sports car than the currently MX5 (even the MGF was) so whats the problem?

  13. It’s the first time I comment here and I should say you give us genuine, and quality information for other bloggers! Great job.
    p.s. You have a very good template for your blog. Where have you got it from?

  14. rumour has it this week the top officials are over from china [ saic ] to decide whether longbridge will build the new model.no money has been spent at longbridge to update the cabs or other ares so does anybody no anything positive to tell us?

  15. may i just put the record straight as i worked as a temp last year at mg.the laid off workers were not from leamington but from former employees who went back to be part of the new mg and were then left disappointed again due to the downturn in the world markets.unfortunately once bitten some people gave full time jobs up to return to the new beginning.all the temps that left are now waiting in anticipation if the new model will ever be built so there may be a chance to return.we all want mg to succeed and be successful.

  16. iam still hoeing that a new mg sports car will be built
    as the market is wide open for a mg sports car. why should the mx5 sports car not have a challenge from a british built sports car
    the sooner the better
    mg enthusiast

  17. apparently according to the MG product plan a rear wheel drive front engine sports car will be joining the ranks in 2016 after the mg4 four door coupe MG CS SUV and the MG electric thing.

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