UK MG3 unveiled Birmingham 12 June 2013

The Longbridge Chinese revolution is set to roar into overdrive with the launch of an all-new MG3 – and a Land Rover-style SUV on the drawing board.

The firm, owned by Chinese business SAIC, took the wraps off its latest model in the UK for the first time with the unveiling of the MG3, its second all-new vehicle following the launch of the MG6.

Dealers and press at the Birmingham car factory were offered a tantalising glimpse of the Longbridge vision with the MG CS concept, the first-ever MG SUV, currently in prototype only.

MG UK bosses remained guarded about their intentions for the SUV, but the public display of the car mirrored the launch of the MG3 in prototype format.

Dealers were also able to view the extended SAIC European Design Centre, which has doubled in size since an original £5 million investment.

“This helps to dispel the urban myth that there is nothing happening here, and we are not investing,” Mr Wallace said. We are quite clearly here for the long-term.”

patpending wrote:The Birmingham Mail:

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/new-mg3-at-longbridge-4311191

Chinese business SAIC ...

The Longbridge Chinese revolution...

The firm, owned by Chinese business SAIC...

The Chinese-owned firm has drawn up...

The fly in the ointment could be the 1.5-litre petrol engine: it’s on the large size for a class of car that’s downsizing and seeking more efficient petrol engines. We challenged MG on this: the firm acknowledges it but says it’s tuning the 105hp motor to be comparable on emissions and economy to other 1.3-litre and 1.4-litre rivals. It does have its own on-site engine calibration division to help here – and that’s not something all car firms can boast…

MG has sold just 107 cars in the UK to date this year. Last month, it sold just 13. Surely this is a failure, and the brand’s days are numbered? Far from it, sales and marketing director Guy Jones told MSN Cars.

The numbers are low, he said, because the MG6 is selling into a declining sector. British buyers are downsizing and buying fewer Ford Mondeo-sized motors – that’s a model that doesn’t appear in the top 10 best-sellers chart (its 1989 successor, the Ford Sierra, was a top three best-seller, showing how things have changed). The Ford Fiesta supermini that the MG3 is going up against is the nation’s best-selling car, of course…

Instead of launching the MG5, the latest plan is to release the production version of the MG CS crossover SUV concept here in the UK. We first saw this launched at the Shanghai Motor Show in April, where it caused quite a stir. MG is now planning a production version of this Nissan Qashqai rival, rolling out some time in 2015.

MG boss Guy Smith (who?) admitted to MSN Cars the CS is now production intent; the crossover SUV sector is so popular, it makes sense for MG to concentrate on this potentially better-selling model rather than getting the MG5 ready for Europe.

MG Motor has retained the full 65-acre site it inherited from Nanjing (which brought the assets of MG Rover) – the MG6 models currently in production even actually travel the full length of the original production during assembly, “although they’re not actually worked on for two-thirds of it”.

Jones admitted that production could thus recommence at Birmingham, if volumes made it viable. That’s why, he explained, the firm has mothballed both the original paint facility and the new building originally assembled to build the new MINI. “We spend millions each year keeping them in full working order…”

Critics say the British aspect of MG is all smoke and mirrors, and that all the real work is carried out in China. Not a bit of it, counters MG, which points to the 400 people based here in the UK working on designing and developing future MGs (as well as creating all the current ones). Overall design chief Tony Williams-Kenny is a Brit based in China, too.

So the cars, which are drawn here, which are tuned and road-tested here, whose engines and gearboxes are designed here, are more British than you think. Yes, the actual construction of the cars is done in China (a bit like how most key Rolls-Royce parts are built abroad…) but the final assembly – the quality and craftsmanship sign off – all takes place on site in Birmingham.

MG hasn’t been selling well up to now and the reaction of the brand’s relaunch from the public has been lukewarm. Jones admitted to MSN Cars this is because the car hasn’t been right, and it’s also had a lot of work to do in getting the infrastructure right. When MG Rover failed, the company stopped: getting it started again isn’t the work of a moment.

But it remains a British brand with a lot of heritage and, when it was on sale last time round, MG cars were strong sellers. A decade ago, the MG ZR was actually the best-selling hot hatch of all. With the right car, surely a British-based brand that’s designing cars from scratch here (and at least in part building them here too) has a place?

Martin Uhlarik and the other 29 members of his Design Team at SAIC Motor UK Technical Centre Limited (SMTC UK) have clearly devoted much thought and time to ensuring that the European version of the MG3 will be a competitive and contemporary product.

‘I totally understand the frustration of those MG enthusiasts who want to see more product in the UK, more quickly. However, as a business, we’re not prepared to risk making mistakes that might kill the brand in Europe by bringing products to the market in quicker timescales. The Business Plan we have will build MG into a globally successful OEM for the first time in its history but, even with all the resources at our disposal, this is going to take time.’ (Guy Jones)

MG Motor UK currently has a total of 29 Franchised Dealers in the UK but Guy Jones told AROnline that the company aims to increase that total to 75 covering 80 per cent of the country’s conurbations by the end of 2014.

Keith Adams in the comments wrote:A quick word about NCAP as it’s best to nip that in the bud now, just so you understand. EuroNCAP testing is done in batches, and not just whenever a new car is launched. It’s also voluntary and not compulsory. Look at what’s been tested – not EVERY car is run through this test. And just one more thing – MANY, MANY cars arrive on the market before they’ve been tested. Remember that the UK generally gets cars months after they’ve been launched in mainland Europe.

Right now we’re between NCAP batches. I’ve spoken to MG Engineers and the ’3 will be NCAP tested, just as the MG6 was. So less whinge, please.