MG Rover-News

[Angus]

Show us the Rover money - union boss

By Jon Griffin, Evening Mail
 
THE UK's most powerful union chief today challenged new MG Rover owners Nanjing to prove they had the cash to resume car production at Longbridge.

Tony Woodley, general secretary of the TGWU, asked Nanjing bosses: "Where is your business plan?" Mr Woodley, who helped to mastermind the Phoenix takeover of the car firm in May 2000, raised alarming new doubts over the future of Longbridge with a dramatic outburst at the Chinese company.

Speaking in detail for the first time since Nanjing won the race to buy Longbridge, Mr Woodley questioned the finances and business intentions of Nanjing.

He revealed the TGWU was still waiting for answers to crucial questions put to Nanjing bosses at a meeting two weeks ago.

Mr Woodley told the Mail: "We know what is in this for China - we do not know what is in it for Great Britain.

"We met Nanjing two weeks ago and there is still a list of unanswered questions about Longbridge.

"I want to know how much money they are putting into Longbridge, how many jobs will be created at Longbridge and how many models will come out of this. Where is the business plan?

"None of these questions have been answered and it is my intention now to write to Nanjing to seek explanations about what is going on."

Mr Woodley's attack will increase fears that Nanjing has bought Longbridge merely to "lift and shift" manufacturing equipment from the car factory, raising doubts that volume production of MG models will ever resume.

The Mail revealed yesterday that Nanjing had lodged an application with Birmingham City Council to convert offices at the plant's South Engineering Block on Lickey Road into temporary accommodation with four shower units.

Northfield ward Councillor Reg Corns has written to Area Planning Officer Chris Cox, council leader Coun Mike Whitby and Planning Committee chairman David Roy calling for the project to be blocked.

Mr Woodley's fears contrast with optimistic forecasts from Birmingham City Council leader Coun Mike Whitby about the Nanjing plan.

Coun Whitby, who recently met senior officials from Nanjing and the Chinese Embassy, said discussions had been "very fruitful" and that "substantial" numbers of jobs were likely to be created.

icbirmingham.co.uk, Aug 25 2005

Aus dem Inhalt:
GB größter Union Chief fordert heute den neuen Eigentümer von MG Rover auf, zu überprüfen ob man die nötigen finanziellen Mittel habe, um die Autoproduktion in Longbridge wieder aufzunehmen.
Tony Woodley, vorsitzender Sekretär der TGWU, fragt die Nanjingführung: "Wo ist eure Wirtschaftsplanung?" Mr Woodley, der bei der Übernahme von MG Rover durch Phoenix im Jahre 2000 half, schlägt aufgrund neuer Zweifel an der Zukunft von Longbridge Alarm.
TGWU warte bislang noch immer auf wesentlich bedeutende Antworten von Nanjing, seitdem man sich vor zwei Wochen mit dem Vorstand getroffen habe.
Woodley: "Ich will wissen, wie viel Geld man in Longbridge stecken will, wie viele Jobs geschaffen werden sollen und wie viele Fahrzeugmodelle die Bänder hier verlassen sollen. Wo ist die Wirtschaftsplanung?
Keine dieser Fragen wurde bisher beantwortet und ich beabsichtige nun an Nanjing zu schreiben um Erklärungen zu bekommen."
Währenddessen will Nanjing temporäre Unterkünfte für Arbeiter aus China auf dem Werksgelände schaffen. Der Northfieldleiter Councillor Reg Corns schrieb dazu an Area Planning Officer Chris Cox, Council Leader Coun Mike Whitby und Planning Committee Vorsitzender David Roy, um diese Bestrebungen zu stoppen.
Coun Whitby, der jüngst mit hohen Vertretern von Nanjing und der chinesischen Botschaft zusammentraf berichtete hingegen von sehr erfolgreichen Gesprächen auch in bezug auf die Anzahl der angestrebten Arbeitsplätze in Longbridge.

[AC-3EX]

1.September 2005

Wilfried Fleischer neuer Geschäftsführer der MG Rover Deutschland GmbH


"Herr Wilfried Fleischer, hat am 1. August 2005 die Geschäftsleitung der MG Rover Deutschland GmbH übernommen.

Wilfried Fleischer, Direktor Händler(netz)entwicklung / Gesamtvertrieb gestaltete u.a. die sehr erfolgreiche Erneuerung und Erweiterung der kompletten MG Rover Handelsorganisation in Deutschland.

Sein vorrangiges Ziel besteht darin, über den Abverkauf der Fahrzeugbestände das Handelsnetz für eine mögliche Zukunft aufrecht zu erhalten."

Quelle: www.mg-rover.de

[Crazy-Moni]

Jürgen Voss wechselt von MG Rover zur AVAG Holding

Jürgen Voss ist ab sofort Geschäftsführer der AVAG Holding, eine der führenden unabhängigen Autohandelsgruppen Deutschlands. Dort wird er hauptsächlich für den Aufbau einer Import-Organisation verantwortlich sein. Zurzeit verhandelt AVAG mit verschiedenen asiatischen Herstellern über entsprechende Verträge. Voss war bis Ende Juli noch als Deutschland-Geschäftsführer britischen Automobilhersteller MG Rover tätig, der wiederum vor kurzem vom chinesischen Hersteller Nanjing gekauft wurde. Der neue Geschäftsführer von MG Rover, der aus den eigenen Reihen stammen soll, wird in wenigen Tagen bekannt gegeben.

Quelle Yahoo Automagazin

[Angus]

Chinese challenge for car owners

A newspaper has made a "symbolic gesture" to the new owners of MG Rover by printing its front page headline in Chinese characters.

The Birmingham Evening Mail said the move was an attempt to get Nanjing Automotive to respond to "unanswered" questions about the plant's future.

Bosses claimed a first for an English-language paper with the headline "No More Chinese Whispers".

An inside page story also lists 12 questions, in Chinese and English.

The newspaper issued a challenge to the Chinese company to address concerns about the future of car production at MG Rover's plant in Longbridge, south Birmingham.

A front page editorial reads: "This may raise a wry smile among readers, but there is no comedy in the symbolic gesture we are making to Nanjing.

"All sorts of rumours have been surrounding Longbridge - from the positive suggestion that there may be up to 2,000 new jobs at the site, to the serious concerns that the Chinese are merely 'lifting and shifting' the factory from here to the Far East, resulting in no future jobs in Birmingham.

"As a result, we have spent the last week asking 12 crucial questions of Nanjing - to which the resounding reply to date has been silence.

"Now we're upping our game, translating it into Mandarin to take it to the heart of China. We challenge Nanjing's director of public affairs, Ningsheng Liu, to give us some straight answers."

Evening Mail editor Steve Dyson pledged to table the questions to the Chinese Embassy in London if they do not receive a reply from Nanjing by next week.

Nanjing bought MG Rover in July after the British car maker went into administration in April.

BBC NEWS, 2005/09/02

Aus dem Inhalt:
Die Birmingham Evening Mail geht nun neue Wege, um den neuen Eigentümer von MG Rover zum Antworten zu bewegen. Es stehen noch immer wichtige Fragen über die Zukunft von Longbridge aus.
In der Überschrift ist in großen Lettern und auf Mandarin (ein chinesischer Dialekt) "No More Chinese Whispers" -also kein weiteres chinesisches Geflüster- zu lesen.
Einige Seiten weiter stellt die Zeitung 12 relavante Fragen zur Zukunft des Werks -ebenfalls auf Chinesisch und Englisch.
Es heißt, Leute würden vielleicht darüber schmunzeln aber es sei eine sehr ernste Sache.
Man fordere Nanjing damit auf, endlich Antworten zu liefern.
Der Herausgeber der Evening Mail, Steve Dyson sicherte zu, die Fragen auch der chinesischen Botschaft in London vorzulegen, wenn Nanjing sich nicht innerhalb der nächsten Woche äussern würde.

[Angus]

New fears over MG Rover future

Fresh fears have been raised over the future of car production at MG Rover after photographs were published of transporters leaving the company's plant laden with equipment.

The Birmingham Evening Mail newspaper claimed the "scores" of lorries leaving E Gate at the car maker's Longbridge factory were involved in a huge "lift and shift" operation to transfer manufacturing to China.

Chinese firm Nanjing Automotive bought MG Rover in July after the British car maker went into administration in April with the loss of about 6,000 jobs.

virgin.net, 15.09.2005


Longbridge 'will be assembling cars again next year'

The manufacturing union Amicus said today that it had held positive talks with the Nanjing Automotive Company, the Chinese car maker that took over the remnants of MG Rover.

Roger Maddison, Amicus' National Officer for the automotive industry, said: "We had a positive meeting with Nanjing. They presented us with their business plan and made it clear that want to build cars in this country and they are willing to put in investment and they have committed to employing Rover workers.

"We anticipate that they will be assembling cars again at Longbridge next year."

themanufacturer.com, 14.09.2005

Aus den Inhalten:
Neue Ängste um die Zukunft der Autoproduktion bei MG Rover kamen auf, als neue Bilder auftauchten, die LKWs zeigten, welche das Werksgelände des Unternehmens verließen. Es hieß, die Transporte gehören zu einer umfangreichen Verladungs-und-Verschiffungsaktion, um die Produktion nach China zu verlagern.

Die Hersteller-Union gab heute bekannt, dass es zu positiven Gesprächen mit Nanjing kam. U.a. konnte das Unternehmen einen Businessplan vorlegen und verdeutlichen, dass man in GB in Zukunft Fahrzeuge herstellen wolle und man habe sich verpflichtet, Rover-Angestellte einzustellen. Man erwarte, dass  im nächsten Jahr wieder Fahrzeuge in Longbridge produziert werden.

[Angus]

The Sunday Times, timesonline.co.uk, September 18, 2005

Chinese firms close to a deal on MG Rover
Dominic O'Connell

THE Chinese car groups that scrapped over the remnants of MG Rover are close to a deal that will clear the way for the British cars to be built in China.

Senior motor-industry sources say that Nanjing Automotive and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) have agreed an arrangement that the former will build Rover engines and small cars, while the latter will make the larger and more modern Rover 75.

The two groups were at loggerheads during the protracted bidding for MG Rover, which collapsed in April. The UK firm was put up for sale by administrator Price Waterhouse Coopers. Nanjing finally triumphed in July, paying £50m for MG Rover's assets.

But SAIC already owned much of MG Rover's intellectual-property rights after buying them for £67m during earlier joint-venture negotiations.

SAIC was particularly keen on buying MG Rover's Powertrain plant, which makes engines and gearboxes.

That went to Nanjing in the sale, despite SAIC claiming to own the intellectual rights to most Rover engines. SAIC was faced with having to build its own engine plant to exploit the designs, a process that could have cost about £200m.

Senior sources now say that SAIC and Nanjing have reached an outline deal that will resolve their competing claims. Nanjing will build the Rover engines for SAIC to use, and will be allowed to use the designs for the Rover 25, a small saloon car. SAIC will build a stretched version of the Rover 75, a larger saloon.

Nanjing could not be contacted for comment yesterday. Sources close to SAIC said it still had plans to build its own engine plant if necessary.

Last week Nanjing began shipping equipment from Rover's Longbridge production base to China. It is believed that the machines being moved were from the Powertrain operation.

Nanjing is still in negotiations with GB Sports Car Company, its British partner, about the possibility of restarting production of some cars in this country. SAIC, which has ambitious plans to become a global carmaker, is still examining whether it could start car assembly in Britain.

Aus dem Inhalt:
Zwei chinesische Unternehmen schließen ein Abkommen, das klären wird, wie britische Fahrzeuge künftig in China produziert werden. Nanjing und SAIC kamen überein, dass Nanjing Rover-Motoren und Kleinwagen und SAIC die moderneren und größeren Rover 75 bauen werden. Konkreter: Nanjing wird für SAIC die Motoren bauen und darf dafür das Design des Rover 25 nutzen, welches SAIC letztes Jahr zusammen mit dem des Rover 75 von der Rover Group erwarb. Trotzdem sagen Quellen bei SAIC, dass man möglicherweise dennoch ein eigenes Motorenwerk bauen wird. Unterdessen begann Nanjing Abbauarbeiten am Longbridge-Werk, vermutlich handelt es sich dabei um  Komponenten der Motorenfertigung.
Nanjing sieht ferner eine Kooperation mit der GB Sports Cars Company vor, um die Wiederaufnahme der Produktion in England zu klären. SAIC selbst schaut sich derzeit nach Möglichkeiten um, wie Fahrzeuge künftig in GB  produziert werden könnten.

[Angus]

China's Nanjing Auto, SAIC to produce Rover cars - report

BEIJING (AFX) - Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corp, which acquired the collapsed British car firm MG Rover in July, has reached an agreement with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) to jointly produce Rover cars, the China Business News reported, citing an unidentified source.

The newspaper said Nanjing Auto will produce Rover 25 cars and engines as well as provide engines for SAIC, which will in turn produce the higher-end Rover 75.

The newspaper said Nanjing Auto plans to complete the shipment of manufacturing equipment from MG Rover's powertrain operation in Birmingham to China prior to February 2006 and finish installing the equipment in May next year, with production to begin in August 2006.

The newspaper did not provide SAIC's overall manufacturing plan but said the Shanghai-based firm is willing to continue to use the Rover brand name.

'SAIC is more likely to use the Rover brand, especially for high-end cars,' an unnamed source close to SAIC was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Officials at Nanjing Auto and SAIC told XFN-Asia that they were not aware of the cooperation at the moment.

forbes.com, 09.20.2005


Aus dem Inhalt:
Nanjing und SAIC haben ein Abkommen geschlossen welches vorsieht, dass Nanjing künftig den Rover 25 sowie die Motoren und SAIC den Rover 75 bauen wird.
Nanjing plane derweil den Abschluss der Verschiffungsaktion der entsprechenden Motorproduktionsanlagen bis spätestens Februar 2006. Das Equipment soll dann im Mai fertig installiert sein, die Produktion im August anlaufen.
SAIC geht unterdessen der Absicht nach, den Markenname "Rover" weiterhin nutzen zu wollen. Besonders für "High-End-"Autos soll der Name Verwendung finden.
Offizielle Stellen bei Nanjing und SAIC sagen derweil, man wisse von keiner Kooperation der beiden Firmen.

[Angus]

Rover geht endgültig nach China/ Nanjing Auto & Shanghai Auto nutzen Namen

20. Sep 2005
Peking 20.09.05 (www.emfis.com)

Die Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corp, welche die britische Pleitefirma MG Rover im Juli übernommen hat, wird den Bau des Rovers gemeinsam mit der Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) fortführen, dass berichtet die China Business News.

Die Zeitung berichtet, dass Nanjing Auto den Rover 25 sowie Motoren produzieren wird. Die Motoren werden wiederum der SAIC geliefert, welche den Rover 75 produziert.

Nanjing Auto plant die Zubehörproduktion von Rover bis Februar nächsten Jahres in Birmingham zu beenden und dann bis Mai nach China zu holen um im August mit der Eigenproduktion zu beginnen.

Wie die Zeitung weiter meldet, wird SAIC voraussichtlich den Namen Rover als Brand-Namen für einige seiner eigenen Endmodelle zu verwenden.

[Angus]

The real cost of Rover's collapse

By Jon Griffin, Evening Mail
 
THE full horrific toll of the MG Rover crisis emerged today - with nearly £500 million a year wiped out from the West Midlands economy.

Birmingham City Council figures revealing the impact of the collapse of Longbridge show that up to 15 per cent of the city's manufacturing capacity has been lost.

The MG Rover administration has seen a one per cent reduction of £486 million a year in the Birmingham and West Midlands Gross Domestic Product - the region's economic output.

The council says around £200 million of public revenue has been lost a year in the aftermath of the Longbridge collapse in April.

Meanwhile, unemployment in the city soared by its highest monthly increase for 14 years while personal debt has more than doubled in a year, from an average of £4,000 to £9,500.

The city council report says that a total of 12,200 people have been hit by the Longbridge crisis, directly through the supply chain and related companies.

Coun Reg Corns (Northfield, Conservative) said today: "These are absolutely horrific figures but they are only half the story. The money is one thing but what this situation is doing to people is another.

"In Northfield, we were below the national average for unemployment - we are now more than three times the average at 7.6 per cent.

"Birmingham is an industrial city. If Birmingham is not making things, then we are nothing.

"More and more families are dependent on family income supplements. They are relying on the Government for a living wage.

"We are in desperate straits. A third of the economy is dependent on the Square Mile of London.

"I do not think that politicians understand business and realise what is happening. There are a hell of a lot of people suffering out there."

The City Council report also reveals that new Longbridge owners Nanjing have not yet been able to reveal the "scale and timing" of a return to car production at Longbridge.

icbirmingham.co.uk, 21.09.2005


Aus dem Inhalt:
Die wahren Kosten des Rover-Zusammenbruchs belaufen sich nach heutigem Stand auf etwa 500 Millionen Pfund pro Jahr an Tilgungen vom Wirtschaftskapital der West-Midlands. Bisher gingen 15% der städtischen Produktionskapazitäten von Birmingham verloren. Eine 1%ige Reduzierung von 486 Millionen Pfund pro Jahr trifft die Wirtschaftskraft der Region.

[Angus]

Nanjing requests talks on Longbridge plans

Executives from the Nanjing Automobile Corporation will meet community leaders to discuss plans for re-starting car production at the former MG Rover site at Longbridge.

The meeting at the end of the month is being organised by Birmingham City Council and will involve councillors and Northfield representatives. Judith Parry-Evans, of Regeneration South-West Birmingham, said the Chinese company wanted to talk to people affected by MG Rover's demise.

Nanjing said at the end of August it was seeking partners to build the TF sports car and develop the EU 1V at Longbridge. But the company wants to dismantle tooling and equipment for the Rover 75 and 25 models and ship it to China.

Ms Parry-Evans said: " Nanjing want to meet community leaders to convey their ambitions and plans."

She said in the three meetings so far with Nanjing the council had underlined a keenness to work to produce an outcome "to the benefit of south-west Birmingham and further afield."

Northfield councillor Randall Brew hit out at "insensitive" media coverage which he believed caused false rumours and could damage relations.

Coun Brew (Con) added: "There was always going to be ill-feeling following the closure of MG Rover. The spirit of the Austin died that day. Nanjing bought the company in an open market and we have to work with them."

Male unemployment in Northfield is 12.3 per cent, up from 7.8 per cent in February.

Former MG Rover workers seeking financial advice from the city council are in debt an average £9,500. Three-quarters of businesses within a quarter of a mile of the plant have reported a fall in turnover.

icbirmingham, Sep 21 2005


Aus dem Inhalt:
Führende Nanjing-Vertreter werden sich Ende des Monats mit Gemeinderäten und Verantwortlichen der Gesellschaft treffen, um die Pläne für die künftige Autoproduktion im Longbridgewerk zu besprechen.
Von Nanjings Seite hieß es, man wolle sich mit Leuten an einen Tisch setzen, die vom Rover-Zusammenbruch betroffen sind. Ende August wurde bekannt, dass man nach Partnern suche, um den MG TF weiter vom Band rollen zu lassen und um die Euro-4 Norm zu entwickeln. Jedoch wolle man das Equipment für den Bau des Rover 25 und 75 demontieren und für die weitere Produktion nach China verlagern. Auf britischer Seite hieß es derweil, nach dem Zusammenbruch hätte man stest ein ungutes Gefühl gehabt, der Geist des Austin starb mit der Pleite. Nanjing hätte das Unternehmen in einem offenen Markt erworben und man müsse nun damit arbeiten.

[Angus]

Chinese MG Buyer Wants State Aid to Restart U.K. Production

BIRMINGHAM, England — Nanjing Automobile, the company that bought the remnants of collapsed British carmaker River earlier this year, wants the British government to give it money in order to build new MG models in the U.K., reports the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Officials from the Chinese company, which bought MG earlier this year for £52 million, met U.K. trade minister Alan Johnson during Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to China earlier this year, and discussions about the amount of potential aid available took place. However, final figures were not discussed.

A Department of Trade and Industry spokesman said: "Our policy is not to give a running commentary on private meetings or discuss commercially confidential matters. Help is available in certain circumstances under strict European Union state aid rules. It would be for the company to discuss any details of an application."

Nanjing has formed an alliance with one of the failed British bidders for Rover, GB Sports Cars, with a view to building MG sports cars at part of the Rover site, while Rover sedan production will be shifted to China. Nanjing is also reported to be close to a deal with Shanghai Automotive over which company will build which models. Nanjing has acquired the production equipment — but its Chinese rival owns the design rights for the cars.

What this means to you: Getting MG up and running as soon as possible is crucial if the well-loved brand is to make a comeback on world markets. Let's hope a deal is struck that saves the brand before it fades into memory.

inside line, 23.09.2005


Aus dem Inhalt:
Der Daily Telegraph berichtet, dass Nanjing Auto die britische Regierung um Geld für die Produktion von MGs in England ersucht. Gespräche mit dem britischen Handelsminister Johnson ergaben bisher noch keine endgültigen Ergebnisse. Aus dem Handels- und Industrieministerium hieß es, dass unter bestimmten Umständen Hilfe möglich sei, unter strikten EU-Staatshilferegeln. Es müssten Details des Gesuches diskutiert werden. MG-Sportwagen sollen künftig in einem Teil des Longbridgewerkes entstehen und die Produktion von Rover-Limousinen nach China verlagert werden. Das bedeutet: MG so schnell wie möglich zum Laufen zu bringen ist entscheidend für die Marke, um einen Neuanfang auf den Weltmärkten zu starten.

[Angus]

Wie das nun aber gehen soll ist mir ein Rätsel:

Rover's 'Rhino' SUV to make India debut
New Delhi, September 25, 2005

Punjab-based International Cars & Motors (ICM), part of the Sonalika Group, is all set to roll out the 'Rhino Rover' SUV, built in collaboration with MG Rover of UK, in January next year at a price range as low as Rs 5-6 lakh.

"The SUV is scheduled to hit Indian roads in January next year and the global foray will be around a year later. We will see how well it does in the home market," Chairman of the Sonalika Group who also heads ICM L D Mittal said.

On the unimaginably low price tag for a SUV, Mittal said, "our manufacturing base in located in a tax free zone (in Himachal Pradesh). We will be saving around Rs 1.5 lakh per vehicle on excise duty alone. We are going to pass on this benefit to the customer".

The Sonalika Group has invested about Rs 200 crore initially in the Rs 1000 crore SUV project. The company has finalised around 24 dealers in north India alone for selling the SUV to be named Rhino-Rover.

The group's partnership with MG Rover includes production of engine powertrain for the two-litre Common Rail Diesel (CRDi) engines in India.

Rhino-Rover will directly compete with Mahindra & Mahindra's Scorpio, while Tata Motor's Safari is priced a tad higher than it.

HindustanTimes.com


Aus dem Inhalt:
Die im Punjabgebiet (Indien) angesiedelte International Cars & Motors (ICM) ist bestrebt, demnächst den "Rhino Rover" -ein SUV gebaut in Kooperation mit der britischen MG Rover- auf den Markt zu bringen. Geplant ist der Start im Januar nächsten Jahres im Heimatland Indien. Der globale Verkauf soll ein Jahr später anlaufen. Man wolle sehen, wie gut das Projekt zunächst auf dem Heimatmarkt ankomme. Die Kooperation mit MG Rover beinhaltet die Produktion der zwei-Liter Common Rail Motoren in Indien.
Rhino-Rover will direkt mit Mahindra & Mahindra's Scorpio konkurrieren. Die Tata Motor's Safari [Stichwort City Rover] ist hingegen preislich etwas höher angesiedelt.

[Angus]

Praise for Mail's Rover campaign

By Jon Griffin, Evening Mail

THE Evening Mail's campaign to get Nanjing to lay its cards on the table over Longbridge was today highlighted at the Labour Party Conference, by a 17-year-old schoolgirl.

Political leaders at Brighton heard praise for the Mail's efforts from teenager Lucy Seymour-Smith, secretary of the Northfield Labour Party.

Lucy, an A-level student at King Edward's High School, told the Government at its Brighton conference that Midland industry needed local people in local manufacturing.

She said: "Colleagues, can I assure you that everyone did all they could to save Rover.

"The workers and their families, the trade unions, the Rover Task Force, our MP Richard Burden and the local media, particularly the Birmingham Evening Mail, together did all they passionately could to save Rover and our industrial heartland.

"I wish to thank the Government for doing all they can to foster a strong and vibrant manufacturing sector and with that in mind I wish to call on the Government to redouble its efforts to create a viable and competitive future for manufacturing throughout the UK."

Lucy called on Labour to continue to work to bring together manufacturing and science.

She said: "At Longbridge, I am pleased to see there are signs of hope for the future. A new technology and science park is being built which will bring highly paid jobs in modern manufacturing."

* Meanwhile, Nanjing today remained silent on renewed weekend claims that volume car manufacturing would never resume at Longbridge while plans were allegedly being drawn up with rival group SAIC to launch production in China.

icBirmingham.co.uk, Sep 26 2005


Aus dem Inhalt:
Die Kampagne der Evening Mail, die Nanjing dazu bringen sollte die Karten auf den Tisch zu legen kam heute zu ihrem Höhepunkt bei der Labour Partei-Konferenz, hervorgerufen durch ein 17jähriges Mädchen.
Politische Leiter in Brighton bekamen Lob für die Bemühungen der Evening Mail von Lucy Seymour-Smith, Abiturientin und Sekretärin der Northfield Labour Partei. Die Industrie in den Midlands bräuchte lokale Leute für lokale Produktion. Jeder tat was er konnte, um Rover zu retten. Dank gebühre auch der Regierung mit der Bitte, die Bemühungen um eine sichere Zukunft der heimischen Produktionen zu verdoppeln. In Longbridge würden derzeit die richtigen Signale gegeben: Eine Technologie- und Wissenschaftsanlage auf dem Werksgelände bringe gutbezahlte Jobs in einer modernen Produktion mit sich.
Zwischenzeitlich hielt sich Nanjing weiterhin still auf die Vermutung, dass die Massenautoproduktion nicht wieder in Longbridge zurückkehren würde, da Nanjing angeblich mit SAIC gemeinsame Sache machen wolle um die Produktion in China in Gang zu bringen.

[Angus]

Klingt ja schon besser:

UK 'will retain' Rover production  

Chinese car firm Nanjing Automobile has said it remains committed to restarting MG Rover car production in the UK.

Vice president Wang Too Jing said up to 1,200 jobs could be created at Rover's Longbridge plant.

Production at Longbridge would restart in 2006, get up to speed in 2007 and should soon reach 100,000 cars a year.

The announcement follows widespread media speculation that the company was preparing to pull out of the West Midlands.

Recent reports have said the group is removing machinery from the plant as part of plans to shift all car making equipment to China.

Nanjing said its plans for the UK and Chinese operations have yet to be finalised.

MG Rover was sold to Nanjing for an undisclosed sum in July after a prolonged bidding battle with rival Chinese carmaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC).

At the time of the deal, administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers said Nanjing intended to relocate the engine plant and some car production plant to China but to "retain some car production" in the UK.

They also said the firm, China's oldest carmaker, had plans to build a research and development and technical facility in the UK.

The UK's last British mass-produced car maker collapsed in April with debts of £1.4bn, a hole in its pension fund of £415m. and the loss of almost 6,000 jobs.

BBC News, Tuesday, 27 September 2005

Aus dem Inhalt:
Nanjing sagt nun offiziell, man sehe sich selbst weiterhin verpflichtet, die MG Rover-Produktion in GB wieder zu starten. Sie sollte 2006 anlaufen und bis 2007 Fahrt aufnehmen, um bald 100.000 Autos pro Jahr zu produzieren. Die Pläne für die entsprechenden britischen und chinesischen Aktionen seien nun am Ende angelangt. Nanjing wolle weiterhin ein Forschungs- und Entwicklungszentrum in GB aufbauen.

Unterdessen schreibt der Guardian Unlimited, dass zwei der drei Endmontagelinien in Longbridge verbleiben würden, gemeinsam mit ihren Lackierungsstätten. In ihnen würde dann die wohl "jüngste und am meisten unerwartete Reinkarnation von Rover" produziert werden.

[Angus]

Independent Online, 28 September 2005 -Auszug-

Chinese pledge to create 1,200 jobs at Rover

(...)
Nanjing Automobile Corporation, which paid just over £50m for MG Rover in July, said it planned to reach production capacity of 100,000 cars within five years and envisaged four or five new models being assembled at the plant.

Two of the three existing assembly lines, along with the paint shop, will remain at Longbridge, enabling production of the Rover 75 and the MGTF sports car to resume next year. The assembly line for the Rover 25 and 45 models and their MG variants will be shipped to China, along with the engine line, which will then manufacture engines to be shipped back to Longbridge.
(...)
The plan is also dependent on talks with the GB Sports Car Company, a consortium created by the entrepreneur Fraser Welford Winton, which is offering to provide financial support and the management for the new Longbridge-based operation.


Aus dem Inhalt:
Der Independent weiß weiter, dass vier oder fünf neue Modelle in den nächsten Jahren in Longbridge produziert werden sollen. Zunächst sollen aber Fahrzeuge des Typs Rover 75 und MGTF wieder vom Band laufen. Die entsprechenden Montagelinien blieben dazu im Werk. Die Motoren für die Fahrzeuge werden künftig aus China nach Longbridge eingeschifft. Die Kooperation mit der GB Sports Car soll der Produktion in Longbridge finanziellen Nutzen bringen und für das Management sorgen.