MG Birmingham & The new MG models

New MG models for Longbridge factory
09 February 2010

MG6 saloon to be built
Two more models on the way
New name for factory, too



MG is preparing to restart production of saloons at the former Austin factory in Longbridge, Birmingham.

The MG6 – a model that's slightly bigger than a Skoda Octavia – will start rolling off the production lines in four- and five-door form in October.

Initially, it will be available with only petrol engines, but diesels will follow 12 months later when the factory – now rechristened MG Motor Birmingham – will begin exporting cars to mainland Europe.

MG is now owned by the China's Shanghai Automotive (SAIC), the successor to the company which bought the Longbridge assembly lines and tooling when Rover went bust.

'Affordability and sportiness'
The MG6 is an Anglicised version of Shanghai Automotive's Roewe 550, which is based on a modified version of the old Rover 75 platform. MG is promising 'affordability and sportiness' as the cornerstones of its strategy in Europe.

More new models on the way
This will be the first of three models likely to end up being made at the Longbridge site. A VW Golf-sized car based on the Roewe 350, a new model to be revealed at April's Beijing auto show, is next in line to arrive here, probably around 2012.

There will also be an even smaller model, about the same size as or slightly larger than European superminis. A concept study of how that car might look is also due to be displayed at Beijing.

patpending wrote:Yes, MG Birmingham - the former Austin factory - shades of the MINI's Cowley Oxford factory with no mention of "MG Rover".

First I've heard of a 4-door variant. How did Auto Express miss that one?

richardk wrote:Autodistress got confused they thought it was GMs new car!

MG plans TF replacement

MG Motor has started work on an all-new front-engined, rear-drive open-top sports car to replace the TF.

Development is at a very early stage and has lower priority than the company’s plans to introduce both the new MG6 and a new supermini to Longbridge. But the firm believes that a new sports car is essential to the long-term credibility of MG as a sporting brand. Though far from concrete, the plan is to introduce the model during 2014.

MG’s 200-strong, Longbridge-based engineering team has already investigated the feasibility of various driveline layouts for the new model, which would also be built at the UK site. Well placed insiders say that a front-engined, rear-drive layout is favoured, to provide the basis for an affordable sports car that would be a direct rival to the Mazda MX-5.

Driver entertainment is a priority, as is the sporting purity of the concept, which is why a front-engined, rear-drive layout is the most likely option.

A mid-engined drivetrain, as used on today’s TF, has been rejected because of the styling and packaging limitations it forces on the car, while customer perceptions about the limited abilities of front-wheel drive mean it has been discounted.

MG does not expect the 15-year-old TF to live much beyond the end of this year, although production of the model is expected to restart in April, following last autumn’s shutdown. That will leave the company without a sports car for at least three years while this new model is developed.

A major challenge will be finding the funds to pay for an all-new rear-drive platform, although SAIC has not ruled out trying to find a partner with which to share a platform. But ultimately, the birth of this new model will be heavily dependent on the success of MG’s attempts to re-establish itself in the UK and Europe with the MG6 and its smaller supermini sister.

Windy wrote:MG does not expect the 15-year-old TF to live much beyond the end of
this year, although production of the model is expected to restart in
April, following last autumn’s shutdown. That will leave the company
without a sports car for at least three years while this new model is
developed.

Windy wrote:Looks like a Volvo from the back, not as pretty an MG6 and the orange is more "rotten orange"!

richardk wrote:I look forward to the MG6x4 or MG6Tx4 to coax me out of my lubbly Freelander

patpending wrote:
Let's face it, the MG6 isn't even here yet, and the last thing we want is the management of MG Motor concentrating on how to make it RWD and get a Mustang (Corvette?) engine in the front...

richardk wrote:

patpending wrote:
Let's face it, the MG6 isn't even here yet, and the last thing we want is the management of MG Motor concentrating on how to make it RWD and get a Mustang (Corvette?) engine in the front...

Well it may already be under development of course
There are other floor pans at their disposal

richardk wrote:OK agreed I wasn't thinking about a Mustang engine..more one that uses heavy oil and can do more than 30 to the gallon.
I know MG6...3...5 and whatever will come first..just wanted to my name on the the lst for the Morris Mudplugger

Windy wrote:

richardk wrote:OK agreed I wasn't thinking about a Mustang engine..more one that uses heavy oil and can do more than 30 to the gallon.
I know MG6...3...5 and whatever will come first..just wanted to my name on the the lst for the Morris Mudplugger

The AP14 (Roewe 350 SUV) then

patpending wrote:would SAIC be legally allowed to sell any 4WD in the UK? if so, under what conditions, e.g. could it be an MG? is the 350 SUV 2WD like the MG3SW?

richardk wrote:I look forward to the MG6x4 or MG6Tx4 to coax me out of my lubbly Freelander

Longbridge to be renamed after over 100 years

LONGBRIDGE is being consigned to history after more than 100 years – with a multi-million pound Chinese makeover to turn the site into the nerve centre of MG design worldwide.

The former home of Lord Austin, British Leyland, Red Robbo, Sir Michael Edwardes, BMW and John Towers is to be renamed MG Birmingham, with an MG Worldwide Design Studio at the heart of the new operation.

The launch of the MG6 model later this year will pave the way for production running into thousands of vehicles, transforming the car firm from a tiny niche operator making just 400 cars a year into a volume manufacturer with major export ambitions.

The plans mark the biggest overhaul at the UK’s most famous factory site since Chinese firm Nanjing bought the former assets of MG Rover for £53 million after the car firm went bust amid debts of £1.3 billion nearly five years ago.

The Chinese plans for Longbridge have remained largely under wraps since China’s biggest car firm Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation took over Nanjing Automobile – but the site is now gearing up for millions of pounds of investment.

Guy Jones, Sales and Marketing Director of MG Motor UK, said: “I do not think that people realise how big MG could be globally.

“They could have just shipped everything in from China, but this could be the gateway to Europe for MG.

“This is a multi-million pound investment. We want to make Birmingham the home for the MG brand globally – Longbridge is going to be revitalized. We want the site to be referred to in common language as MG Birmingham. The company will be MG Motor UK.

“We are in the second largest city in the UK but, to global and international people, Longbridge is meaningless.

“This is more of a subtle change; the postal address remains the same.

“We want to give it its own identity separate from MG Rover, to give it international recognition.

“Instead of saying ‘here is a plan of Longbridge, we will say here is a plan of MG Birmingham.’

Mr Jones said the launch of the MG6 later this year would be the catalyst for transforming the Chinese car firm into a volume manufacturer. So far the factory has only sold a few hundred limited edition cars and MG TF135 models.

“We are going from small volumes to large volumes, from hundreds of cars to thousands. This is a very exciting time for a new company.

“This is the complete opposite of the rest of the market, where global players are looking to reduce and fight their corners.

“We are still going to be a very lean, very efficient company, but we have got the biggest player in the biggest car market in the world as the parent company.” The revamp of Longbridge will also see an on-site MG dealership set up in the old visitor centre while the conference centre will be refurbished with a view to attracting other users.

“We do not have a significant presence in the centre of Birmingham and we are sure people would like to have their cars serviced at a factory dealership,” Mr Jones added.

“Instead of saying ‘here is a plan of Longbridge, we will say here is a plan of MG Birmingham.’

Windy wrote:

“Instead of saying ‘here is a plan of Longbridge, we will say here is a plan of MG Birmingham.’

"MG Longbridge", "MG Birmingham", one more step and it will by "MGUK"