Mr Chen Hong of SAIC, which merged with MG owner NAC last year, confirmed plans to assemble the MG TF roadster at Longbridge to the Financial Times in Beijing at the weekend, following recent fears that the car, out of production for three years, would never be built in the UK after Stadco withdrew from a supply contract. SAIC intends to start production of the TF at the end of April in China, and at the end of July in the UK, with a view to launching UK-assembled cars in August. The NAC MG sales company has recruited 55 dealers to date.
Mr. Chen also told the FT at the Beijing Motor Show that the panels no longer to be supplied to Longbridge by Stadco will be shipped from China. He gave the paper no indication of SAIC/NACs sales or production volume targets.
The Birmingham Post reported today that SAIC had delayed assembly in the UK because it wanted to reassess it following its merger with Nanjing at the end of last year and because of concerns about the quality of some of the components being shipped over from China. The Chinese commitment would appear genuine, says the papers reporter, and has been reinforced by comments from the Conservative MEP for the West Midlands and ex Rover executive Malcolm Harbour, who says he met SAIC president Chen Hong privately at the end of March.
"Mr Chen had asked me to keep the details of the meeting secret until now but he told me that the intention was to relaunch production in the summer with the cars being offered for sale shortly afterwards," Harbour said.
What Car? reports that a Roewe 550 model launched by SAIC at the Beijing motor show, designed in Britain by ex-MG Rover engineers and based on the Rover 75 platform, is scheduled to go on sale in China next month. The magazines website speculates quoting company sources that a more aggressively styled European version could be imported and built at European sites under consideration including Longbridge and others in Germany and Austria.
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