MG Cars Are Back on the Road
Now made in China, MG cars hope to capture the spirit of England
Mar 28, 2007
Keep on Truckin'
In 1968 Leyland Motors, a British truck manufacturer bought the MG Car Company when it purchased the British Motor Corporation. Once again in 2007, a truck manufacturer, Nanjing Motors of China has rescued the brand. The first MG cars rolled off the assembly line this week to the cheers of auto enthusiasts worldwide.
Nanjing Motors bought the bankrupt holdings of MG-Rover and promptly moved all the tooling from the Longbridge, England plant and shipped it to China. Along with the machinery, Nanjing also sent a collection of historic MG convertibles and sports cars in an effort to capture the essence of British engineering and styling. Wang Hong Biao, Vice President of Nanjing Auto Company, noted that "emotion is the most important factor in purchasing cars. That's why we feel the brand is so important and is why we want to protect the British flavor of the brand.” (International Herald Tribune, March 13, 2007)
Global Sports Cars 1.0
In doing so, Nanjing follows the successful footsteps of Mazda, which brought a Triumph Spitfire to Japan for its engineers and designers to study. Mazda also honed in on the principles established by the trend-setting Lotus Elan – light weight, rigid structure and elegantly simple styling – to revive the two seat sports car in the US and Europe. The Miata, or MX-5 as its called in Great Britain, has been the world’s most successful sports car; over 800,000 have been produced since 1989.
Nanjing is well known in China as the producer of the ubiquitous Yuejin truck, now in production for over 50 years. In entering the car market Nanjing chose to purchase a brand with instant name recognition. “The Chinese strategy to get into the market is to go for mature, established brands that might have had some trouble,” Mr. Wang said in a New York Times interview.
The Sports Car That Started it All
From 1947 – 1980, MG sold over 500,000 sports cars in the United States, establishing itself as a hugely recognizable brand. The last models, the MG Midget and the more popular MGB had been in production – largely unchanged – since 1961.Their engineering dated back to the 1950’s. Tweaking these cars for changing American tastes and regulations proved a Herculean task. The fiscal policies of the British Exchequer, which supported a very strong pound sterling against the dollar, kept the price on new MG’s rising smartly while Japanese (Datsun 240 Z) and American competitors (Mustang, Corvair, Barracuda) consistently offered lower prices and contemporary features.
In Great Britain and Europe MG also sold a large number of sporting sedans which remained the mainstay of the company until its close in 2005. Nanjing recognized this when it purchased the rights to the MG brand, as well as the historic nameplates of Austin and Morris. The first car to roll off the new production lines is the MG7, a five-seat sedan based on a successful but older MG-Rover design. Right behind it is the MG TF, a two-seat, mid engine sports car that had been in production since .
Nanjing has a 33-year lease on the former MG-Rover/Austin manufacturing plant in Longbridge, England. It intends to manufacture the MG TF in China but assemble it in England for sale in Great Britain. Last year, Nanjing announced the creation of MG Motors North America at its new headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. There it plans to assemble an MG TF coupe for the American market. Duke Hale, who last worked with Lotus USA, will head the new company.
