MG cars to be reborn in Nanjing

By Gong Zhengzheng (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-02-08 15:14

Nanjing Automobile Corp, Italian carmaker Fiat's partner in China, said in January it will build cars under the acquired British brand MG beginning March 27. The first model to be built in Nanjing will be the MG 75 sedan scheduled to go on sale in the second half of this year, said Yu Jianwei, company president.

The MG sedan will compete with a Roewe 750 sedan from SAIC Motor Co Ltd, the biggest Chinese carmaker listed in Shanghai, as both models come from the same platform of failed British carmaker MG Rover.

Executives from Nanjing Auto said the company will also assemble a MG TF sports car at the Longbridge factory starting in May. Nanjing Auto said in a press release that it expects combined MG production in Nanjing and Longbridge to reach 200,000 units annually over the next five years.

Wang Haoliang, Nanjing Auto chairman, said it plans to roll out one or two MG models every year in that period. "We will put main efforts in Nanjing" for MG production, Wang said. The company plans to build a production capacity of 200,000 MG vehicles, 250,000 engines and 100,000 gearboxes in Nanjing with a total investment of 3.5 billion yuan.

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