Longbridge to Produce First MG in 16 Years

Apr 12 2011

UK car credit buyers might not all be able to afford a new car.  That does not prevent us from dreaming though - and there are few British cars that had more people dreaming than the MG.  The good news is that on the 13th April the MG will roll off the new Longbridge production line in Birmingham.  It was this week exactly six years ago that the factory closed and 6,500 people lost their jobs.

The Longbridge plant is currently owned by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC).  The company's plan for the brand new MG-6 is to compete directly with cars such as the Volkswagen Golf and the Ford Focus.

The sole female factory worker at the plant, Lisa Ponter, will drive the first car off the production line on Wednesday in a cloud of dry ice.

The company has assured UK car credit buyers that the car was completely designed and developed in Birmingham.  Part of the production will, however, be done in China and the car will then be sent to Longbridge where the engine, electrics and testing will be completed.

Many UK car credit buyers will remember the long and chequered history of Longbridge.  After many years of turmoil and worker unrest, BMW bought the Rover Group in 1994.  This did not work very well and six years later we saw the emergence of MG Rover.  The new company only lasted five years before it collapsed into administration.  The collapse of the factory was a severe blow to the local economy and it ripped the heart out of the UK car production industry.

MG Rover's remaining assets were subsequently taken over by the Chinese in July 2005.  They started assembling limited edition MG TFs from Chinese kits at the factory in 2008.

Author - Louise Hutchinson
 

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