William Wang: - MG6 diesel "by end 2012", MG3 "by H2 2013", EU export "by 2014"

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2012/05/19/longbridge-in-gear-for-mg-s-euro-mission-97319-31005344/

"By the end of the year, we will have an MG6 diesel, by the second half of next year we will have the MG3 and my target is to be exporting to Europe within two years". {William Wang)

That's disappointingly slow off the blocks. Poor old dealers. I suppose the Derv 6 will give the dealers a bit of cash flow to tide them over but I wouldn't be surprised if more jump ship before the end of this year.
The long wait for the MG3 (and assumed even longer wait for the 5 etc)gives me fears that in their current state they are way off being to european standards and are having to be totally re-engineered cos it don't take long to tweak suspension settings and put bigger wheels on does it?

richardk wrote:That's disappointingly slow off the blocks. Poor old dealers. I suppose the Derv 6 will give the dealers a bit of cash flow to tide them over but I wouldn't be surprised if more jump ship before the end of this year.
The long wait for the MG3 (and assumed even longer wait for the 5 etc)gives me fears that in their current state they are way off being to european standards and are having to be totally re-engineered cos it don't take long to tweak suspension settings and put bigger wheels on does it?

when you think about this, it seems strange that MG Motor are showing dealers an MG3 today if they won't get it for a year. Two years is far too long a delay for the MG3.

Worryingly similar behaviours to that seen in 2004/5...jam tomorrow!

richardk wrote:Worryingly similar behaviours to that seen in 2004/5...jam tomorrow!

The difference being that we know what flavour jam, produced by the world's 13th-most-profitable(?) jam maker.

What does the alternative look like? No jam tomorrow, no Longbridge assembly, no buildings at all leased at Longbridge, the design and engineering teams leave, the dealer network shuts down, it was a waste of time recruiting dealers last week, Mr. Wen's visit was a waste of his time...

doesn't make sense.

However, SAIC need to recruit more jam delivery specialists now!

richardk wrote:The long wait for the MG3 (and assumed even longer wait for the 5 etc)gives me fears that in their current state they are way off being to european standards and are having to be totally re-engineered cos it don't take long to tweak suspension settings and put bigger wheels on does it?

I'm sure they could launch it quickly if they wanted to but I'm sure that an MG3 will produce less profit than an MG6 so I suspect they want to build them here rather than import them and given the current MG6 sales figures they probably expect to make a huge loss on them!

You need a certain number of sales to make it worth while, we need to see MG6 sales figures increase dramatically...

Windy wrote:You need a certain number of sales to make it worth while, we need to see MG6 sales figures increase dramatically...

it's all a bit chicken and egg really. Maybe the economy has delayed the plan. I don't believe SAIC are incompetent and (unlike some posters) I am certain they are not following a hidden agenda.

I don't know how long dealers can wait. Sterling Automotive and many others could not.

Now that we are talking about 2014 for the Continent, dealers there will start with two models. Or will they? When is the new sportscar launched? It was going to be 2014 or later...

I realise it is all down to business plans and MG are doing what they want to not what the old MG Rover die hards want but I am concerned for the dwindling dealer base. The last year has seen more dealers leave than join.

Fingers crossed we will see a few surprises in the autumn with the MG6 to generate some cash flow and profit for the dealers. The MG6 sales will not grow until there are more engine/gearbox variants.

IMHO a sportscar is distraction MG can do without. They are very out of fashion and a very small meerkat - they'd do better to get MG Juke into production - simples

Chicken and egg it is indeed!

richardk wrote:IMHO a sportscar is distraction MG can do without.

I drove a ZS in Germany ten years ago at a time when Germans believed that Rover Group had ceased to exist.

I discovered that one colleague actually had an MG sportscar. To the Germans, that was the only conceivable kind of MG, although her model was about 30 years younger than the newest they could imagine.

Launching MG in Germany without a sportscar is going to be VERY hard to do. Maybe the "Juke" (Icon) would count and is a preview of what to expect from the next TF.