MGs will be definitely assembled in the UK, the US and China according to Duke Hale, new boss of Nanjing subsidiary MG Cars.In an interview with US automotive website Edmunds.com, Hale confirmed that MG would build a coupé version of the TF roadster in Oklahoma. That contradicts recent comments by Nanjing president Yu Jianwei that the plan for a US car plant was only “an idea”.There will also be three MG saloons — described by Hale as “small, medium and large” — built in China. These models will be sold in Europe, but it is not decided whether they will also be offered in the US.The current plan is for the TF roadster to be assembled at Longbridge from Chinese-built kits. The car will be launched in Europe in 2007, before coupé production starts in the US in 2008.
Hale envisages a network of 350 dealers in the US with “an assortment of importers and dealers” in Europe. His sales hopes for Europe are ambitious: 100,000 to 130,000 cars per year.For the news on the potential sale of the Rover name to rival Chinese firm Shanghai Automotive, click here.
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