New Longbridge production line

By Tim Pollard

Motor Industry

31 May 2007 10:10

Reborn MG opens its doors at Longbridge

Yesterday marked the latest chapter in one of the genuine rollercoaster stories of our times: the rise and fall – and now yet another recovery – of car production at Longbridge, the spiritual home of some of the most famous nameplates in British car manufacturing. This time it’s the rebirth of MG, now in Chinese hands and back from a near-death experience since MG Rover collapsed in April 2005. Nanjing Automobile Corporation (NAC) is the oldest car maker in China and paid £50 million to snap up the MG brand and manufacturing rights, but can it really stand a chance with its new English project? 

The Chinese manufacturer is reviving the MG brand and, in Europe, the first model on sale will be the revised TF roadster on sale around September 2007. The first cars to roll off the Longbridge line were paraded at the factory’s inauguration on 29 May – but Chinese officials are confident that other models will join the two-seat roadster once the sales operation is up and running across Europe. Chief exec Yu Jian Wei confirmed that a coupe version of the TF2 (based on 2004's MG GT Concept above) would be launched and CAR Online found a sleek MG7 coupe version of the 75 hidden in one corner of the Birmingham facility. It is also planning to relaunch the ZT and ZT-T estate, and once this first phase of products is launched, the Chinese will concentrate on proper new launches. Of course, the operation at Longbridge is small fry compared with NAC’s factory in Nanjing, China. It spent £250 million building a modern plant with a capacity of 200,000, plus 250,000 engines and 100,000 gearboxes. Quick work indeed – the factory lines were switched from the West Midlands to the other side of the world in less than 12 months, and the first cars were built there on 27 March.

By Tim Pollard