MG Rover-News

[Roverlook]

Kann nicht glauben, wie Du es da länger aushälst, war selbst ganzen September 2004 da und war froh wieder zu Hause zu sein ;). Freunde meinten, der Winter sei auch unangenehm.

Welche Modelle hast Du denn jetzt schon gesehen?
MG7 und MG3?

[mg xpower]

Bin Gott sei Dank nur die Woche da.
Sowas von kaputter Umwelt hab ich noch nie gesehen.
Bin froh wenns morgen wieder heimgeht.

Hab den MG 7 zwei Mal im Straßenverkehr von Nanjing gesehen.
Leider nur vom weitem und durch total versiffte Taxischeiben (daher kein Foto).

Grüße aus Shanghai (ich will wieder Sonne sehen)
Uli

P.S. Obs die chin. Zensur liest  ;)?

[Zoolicious]

News today that that StadCo will no longer produce MGTF bodyshells at Longbridge for Nanjing raises some urgent questions as to Nanjing's intentions at the site. In particular, is MGTF production still going ahead?

StadCo and Nanjing said simply that "Stadco and NAC jointly confirm that for commercial reasons, production of bodyshells for the MGTF by Stadco will cease. Both parties are working to ensure minimum disruption to the workforce." They added that "consultations with elected employee representatives will commence immediately and every effort will be made to assist those affected by this announcement".

Until today, StadCo had been seen as a key partner for Nanjing in its efforts to restart small scale MGTF production at Longbridge, and had shifted body-shell production there from its site in Coventry (StadCo had always made the body shells for the MGTF, back under MG Rover days).

Quite where this leaves MGTF production is the big question.

Nanjing's efforts to restart MGTF production at Longbridge had already been delayed, apparently beset by concerns over quality. Whilst Nanjing are good at lift-and-shift operations (witness the speed at which they shifted production lines out to China), actually making quality cars has proved to be more difficult for them. While Nanjing beat Shanghai in the bidding for MG Rover's assets back in 2005, many commentators noted then that actually it is a small firm and never really had the resources to invest in the brand and to develop new models. Its joint venture in China with Fiat has not gone well and the firm has never successfully developed a new model and brought it to market. Perhaps not surprisngly then, progress at Longbridge since 2005 has been painfully slow.

Indeed, it was with some relief that Shanghai Auto purchased Nanjing's car operations at the end of 2007. This was in part prompted by the Chinese government rightly banging heads together to make a go of the MG brand and to consolidate a fragmented industry in China. Shanghai was always the better bet for reviving MG given its size and ability to generate cash, as the unions here rightly pointed out back in 2005.

So, at the start of this year, things looked more positive for an MG revival at Longbridge. Shanghai was the firm which should have taken over MG in the first place. Hopes were also raised because after Shanghai bought MG Rover's intellectual property rights in late 2004, it continued to develop the replacement for the R45 through its joint venture with Ricardo here in the West Midlands. This is now well advanced and there are hopes that an MG-badged version could be produced both in China and at Longbridge.

So the decision today raises a number of serious questions. Is this part of Shanghai asserting control and maybe bringing in complete knock-down MGTF kits from China including body shells? If so, there will be fewer jobs here in the UK than we thought.

Or is MGTF production still going ahead at all? Indeed, what exactly is Nanjing and Shanghai now planning for their operations at Longbridge?

Some answers would be very welcome, especially when Nanjing's plant still forms such a large part of the old Longbridge site which needs to be redeveloped to create much-needed local jobs.

Am besten gefällt mir folgende Zeile:
Whilst Nanjing are good at lift-and-shift operations (witness the speed at which they shifted production lines out to China), actually making quality cars has proved to be more difficult for them.



Warten wir mal ab, was nun passiert.

Diskussionen bitte nicht hier im Newsthread, sondern in der News-Gesprächsecke.

[Zoolicious]

SHANGHAI Automotive (SAIC), China's largest locally-owned carmaker, is to resume production of the iconic MG TF roadster at its UK plant in July, according to its president.

With plans to resume MG production at its plant in Longbridge, the carmaker is also to consider exporting its own-brand, Chinese-made Roewe cars to Europe, Chen Hong told the Financial Times on Sunday. SAIC, which merged with its smaller regional rival Nanjing Automobile last year, intends to resume production of the TF at the end of this month in China, three months before its planned production date in the UK.

"We will try to launch production at the end of July and bring the car to market at the end of August," Mr Chen said. MG has 55 dealers in the UK, and also plans to sell its roadster in Europe. NAC bought the MG brand and its production assets in 2005, and shipped most of the plant to Nanjing. SAIC acquired the rights for some of the carmaker's models, which it renamed Roewe.

SAIC, which has joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen – China's two largest foreign carmakers – wants to build up its own brand to cash in on China's booming car market. Mr Chen said a possible launch of export sales into eastern and western Europe was being considered. In a country in which carmakers are establishing themselves and fighting foreign brands for market share, SAIC touts its British ties.

Its stand this week at the Auto China show in Beijing was adorned with images of Tower Bridge, William Shakespeare, a red telephone booth and a teapot with cup of tea. The TF model has a large fan base in Europe and the US, but has been off the market for three years in an industry characterised by rapid product improvements. Mr Chen said its pricing would be "competitive".

SAIC delayed the TF relaunch because of the merger as well as concerns about ensuring its quality. "The manufacturing consistency is stable, and we're very comfortable with the quality," Mr Chen said. Supplier company Stadco, which had been expected to provide body panels for the TF, withdrew from a supply deal. The brand will now source them from China, Mr Chen said.

Soso...

[AC-3EX]

Steht auf der Auto China...

[Zoolicious]

Die Preise für den MG TF LE500 in UK wurden verkündet:

"It's more expensive than an MX-5. The car, which is basically an updated version of the old MGF, will cost £16,399 on the road.
This means it is undercut by the excellent little £15,730 1.8 Mazda by nearly 700 pounds. The engine has apparently been updated and there is now a body coloured hardtop, sports styled leather seats and a piano black interior give the car a stylish new look.
The car has around 136bhp (11bhp more than the Mazda) and comes with unique graphics and a Pioneer head unit. Sales and Marketing Director for NAC MG UK Ltd, Gary Hagen, said the package is 'extremely competitive'.
'The backing of SAIC, China's largest car maker, and the fact the LE 500 has been designed, engineered and is being built in the UK, will play a major role in the car's success,' he added.
'When it was last available, the MG was the UK's best selling small sports car. We are confident that the indicated demand for the return of the marque from dealers, enthusiasts and most importantly new customers will see it reclaim that position.'"

Soviel Geld für Chinaschrott?

[mini-zr160]

roewe 750 <- werbung



mg 7 <- werbung

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9HlhaJzZTM&feature=related

roewe 550 <- promotion video

[-trouble-]

[600.ger]

Ich muss sagen, nun bin ich doch mal positiv überrascht worden... MG wird wie ich das verstehe zwei Fronten anbietem wovon eine exakt die englische Mk1 ist. Das ganze soll wohl wie BMW mit z.B. der M-Front gedacht sein. Auch im Innenraum ist wenig, was den Originalcharakter verpfuscht.



Gruß
Florian

[baueran]

Das Design der "neuen" MGs - Made in China - ist so schon sehr lange bekannt. Die ersten Bilder - siehe 30. Oktober 2006 - ließen bereits erahnen, daß sich da kaum etwas ändern wird.

Mit den "Neuen" MG3 SW und MG3 sieht es nicht anders aus.

Aktuell gesehen scheint man aber ganz klar hinter den gesteckten Zielen zu bleiben:

MG Car Sales - Not what SAIC expected

Ich kann mir durchaus vorstellen, daß man versuchen wird, das Design zu ändern bzw. neue Modelle zu bringen. Spätestens dann wird das MG Rover-Flair wohl vollständig verschwinden. Ein spekulatives Beispiel gibt es hier: Auto Express says this is the new MGTF. Ich bin mir auch nicht sicher ob es langfristig eine Doppelstrategie Roewe / MG geben wird, da SAIC ja mittlerweile alles "geschluckt" hat. Effektiver wäre es ja, alles unter einer Marke zusammenzufassen. Die Erfindung und Promotion der Marke Roewe wäre dann nie nötig gewesen. SAIC hat dies damals aber auch nicht wissen können. Wie auch immer - die Modelle von MG Rover werden aus meiner Sicht wohl kaum legitime Nachfolger aus China bekommmen. Zudem gibt es noch die Hürde, die Fahrzeuge auch außerhalb Chinas erfolgreich zu verkaufen - schwierig, wenn es innerhalb Chinas schon nicht so richtig funktioniert.

Mehr zu MG aus chinesischer Sicht bei www.chinacartimes.com:
www.chinacartimes.com - Nanjing-MG

Übrigens gibt es hier auch Infos zu Roewe - äh - Rowi oder so ähnlich:
www.chinacartimes.com - Roewe

[Roverlook]

bei den You-Tube Videos finde ich überraschend, dass da die Rede von 5 Sterne NCAP bei den neuen Roewe Modellen ist  :-o

[baueran]

Offenbar ist man bei Roewe generell sehr selbstbewußt:

Da muß ich an die Schweizer denken: "Wärr hat's erfundän?"

[Roverlook]

jol, wie kreativ: K-Series = King Series  :D :D :D
L-Series = ?

[Tom]

bei den You-Tube Videos finde ich überraschend, dass da die Rede von 5 Sterne NCAP bei den neuen Roewe Modellen ist  :-o

ICh find da nix! Und China-Mogel-NCAP mit 100% Überdeckung und 50km/h oder richtiges Euro-NCAP?

[baueran]

... richtiges Euro-NCAP?

Dann müsste das hier ja irgendwann mal auftauchen:

www.euroncap.com