China’s two largest car manufacturers, Nanjing Automotive Corporation (NAC) and Shanghai Automotive (SAIC) merged at a conference held recently in Beijing.There was fierce rivalry between the two automakers, with both companies owning parts of what was the MG Rover corporation – NAC has rights to the MG TF, ZR and ZT, and SAIC owns the Rover 25, 75 and the K-series engine.It took five months to come to an agreement regarding the merger, but SAIC finally bought out NAC for £144m.The two companies have agreed to merge all their combined resources, including research and design, sales and marketing, manufacturing and supply chain management, though the company will continue to trade under both names. The aim is to make SAIC into a large global manufacturer by giving it access to the MG brand and NAC’s more modern, larger production facilities, whilst NAC leads the operation in the home market. This is essentially a complete restructuring of the Chinese automotive industry; something the Chinese authorities were keen to see happen in order to make the country’s car industry more competitive.NAC had already begun production of the MG TF at Longbridge, and since the merger SAIC has stated that the UK operation remains central to the company’s plans, with the TF roadster leading the offensive over here. The only change expected to take place at Longbridge is an injection of more resources, so expect to see more new MG products soon after the launch of the TF next year.
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Re: Chinese manufacturers merge
Here here!
In Clarkson's defence, though, I don't think he's ever laid the blame at the ''ever-striking workforce'' (only taking the michael of how difficult they could be to deal with), or the engineers and designers who came up with the ideas that they did. If I remember rightly, he did a piece on the downfall of Rover once, and laid the blame squarely on men who took big steps without really seeming to know what they were doing.
Re: Chinese manufacturers merge
There's nothing wrong with the Rover marque
My support of MG Rover and Longbridge is not born out of some jingoistic, flag waving blind passion of anything with the Union flag stuck on it. It is experience of driving all sorts of conraptions from most of the major manufacturers over the years. But the only cars I've ever owned have come out of the Longbridge stable. It started by accident I must admit. The car I learned to drive in and passed my test at 17 in was one and so was it's replacement - and so on. The first brand new car I bought was six years ago, a Rover 45 was made there and so was it's replacement, my current MG ZS. These cars are bolted together by people who care about the brand and the product every bit as much as the owner who eventually drives it, and it shows every time you get in one. Twenty-six years on from when I took my test, I am still driving one.
My previous job provided me another of the Longbridge vans to call on all the farms and outposts in the hills and countryside of East Lancashire. Every day it took me to places that aren't even pinned on any OS map, in all seasons and weather conditions. There were times when I'd end up with more cow muck on the body panels than on any of the shippon floors I went to. But the van still fired up every morning ready for more of the same guelling punishment - day in and day out, year in and year out.
I've loved, cried, laughed and even made love on one Longbridge car or another. In my support of the fluctuating and often frustrating fortunes of Burnley Football Club, they have carried me and my pals to nearly every football ground in the country. They have played an enourmous part in my life. I don't and have never worked for them, nor do I have any kind of professional connection to the company. I live 160 miles north of the iconic factory and yet there is interest, passion and a will for it to sucdeed. Practically every other street has one MG Rover car or other parked outside a house - at least up here they do.
I don't have any French blood in me. When one of your own is down you don't walk away, rather you close ranks and protect what you have. You stand up for what is right and proper. These cars - their marques and the factory - is part of me and is part of our country's rich contribution to the world's motoring history, and it's worth fighting for.
The merger of SAIC and NAC should bring added investment into Longbridge. It will be the perfect location for R&D and manufacturing, for their strategy of gaining a foothold into the continental markets. But it wont happen if so-called professional journalists continue to write ill-researched bile and nonsense. And it wont happen unless our government of what ever colour plan a well balanced economic strategy that caters for manufacturing interests as well as the city.
Finally, a word regarding your comment on the TF. The similarities are there in terms of the bodywork. Underneath the bonnet you'll see that those Lotus boys have been doing their bit to improve the K-Series power unit. And given the right circumstances as mentioned im my previous paragraph, don't think that the new owners have just been sitting back over the last couple of years hoping to re-introduce old models. New cars will come out of Longbridge.
Re: Chinese manufacturers merge
There's nothing wrong with the Rover marque - there's over two million of them on the roads at the moment and practically every other street has one parked outside someone's house - at least up here they do.
My support of MG Rover and Longbridge is not born out of some jingoistic, flag waving blind passion of anything with the Union flag stuck on it. It is experience of driving all sorts of conraptions from most of the major manufacturers over the years. But the only cars I've ever owned have come out of the Longbridge stable. It started by accident I must admit. The car I learned to drive in and passed my test at 17 in was one and so was it's replacement - and so on. The first brand new car I bought was six years ago, a Rover 45 was made there and so was it's replacement, my current MG ZS. These cars are bolted together by people who care about the brand and the product every bit as much as the owner who eventually drives it, and it shows every time you get in one. Twenty-six years on from when I took my test, I am still driving one.
My previous job provided me another of the Longbridge vans to call on all the farms and outposts in the hills and countryside of East Lancashire. Every day it took me to places that aren't even pinned on any OS map, in all seasons and weather conditions. There were times when I'd end up with more cow muck on the body panels than on any of the shippon floors I went to. But the van still fired up every morning ready for more of the same guelling punishment - day in and day out, year in and year out.
I've loved, cried, laughed and even made love on one Longbridge car or another. In my support of the fluctuating and often frustrating fortunes of Burnley Football Club, they have carried me and my pals to nearly every football ground in the country. They have played an enourmous part in my life. I don't and have never worked for them, nor do I have any kind of professional connection to the company. I live 160 miles north of the iconic factory and yet there is interest, passion and a will for it to sucdeed. Practically every other street has one MG Rover car or other parked outside a house - at least up here they do.
I don't have any French blood in me. When one of your own is down you don't walk away, rather you close ranks and protect what you have. You stand up for what is right and proper. These cars - their marques and the factory - is part of me and is part of our country's rich contribution to the world's motoring history, and it's worth fighting for.
The merger of SAIC and NAC should bring added investment into Longbridge. It will be the perfect location for R&D and manufacturing, for their strategy of gaining a foothold into the continental markets. But it wont happen if so-called professional journalists continue to write ill-researched bile and nonsense. And it wont happen unless our government of what ever colour plan a well balanced economic strategy that caters for manufacturing interests as well as the city.
Finally, a word regarding your comment on the TF. The similarities are there in terms of the bodywork. Underneath the bonnet you'll see that those Lotus boys have been doing their bit to improve the K-Series power unit. And given the right circumstances as mentioned im my previous paragraph, don't think that the new owners have just been sitting back over the last couple of years hoping to re-introduce old models. New cars will come out of Longbridge.