So Who Are SAIC NAC MG?????

Introduction to SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) and SMTC (Shanghai Motor Technical Centre).

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group (SAIC) is one of the leading automotive groups in China. It is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of passenger cars, buses, tractors, motorcycles, heavy-duty trucks and automotive components. SAIC became a member of the Fortune Global 500 list of companies on July 12, 2004.

The main businesses of the corporation include R&D, manufacturing and sales of vehicles (passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles) and parts (including power train, chassis, electronic and electric parts) that are closely related with vehicle development, as well as the auto financial business that is closely related with the auto industry.
In recent years, guided by its corporate values, SAIC has sped up its growth and reached new highs in sales. It sold more than 1.05 million vehicles in 2005, of which more than 740,000 were passenger cars, and realized consolidated revenue of $14.37 billion. In 2008, it is predicted to manufacture in excess of 2.7 million vehicles.

At the end of 2004, SAIC restructured itself and established SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd. Since the transformation, SAIC has been defining its role as a comprehensive investment corporation engaged in advanced manufacturing and modern service.

SAIC produces its own brand saloon vehicles under the Roewe badge and has a 51% stake in Ssangyong Motors. It also has successful joint ventures with GM producing vehicles under the Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, Saab, Opel, Acdelco and SGMW badges as well as with VW, producing the Octavia, Polo, Passat, Touran, Santana and Santana3000.

SMTC UK Limited (Shanghai Motor Technical Centre, UK) is based at Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of SAIC Motor, whose parent company is Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, China’s largest automotive manufacturing company. SMTC UK currently employees approximately 120 engineers and designers, with a further 150 contractors, and provides engineering and design skills for MG and Roewe

On December 25th 2007, SAIC signed a memorandum of understanding with rival automotive manufacturer, Nanjing Automobile Corporation (NAC), the oldest motor manufacturing firm in China. In April 2008 the two companies merged, with SAIC becoming NAC’s parent company. NAC has a European base at Longbridge, England, manufacturing the MG sports car brand and in September 2008 they will become the first Chinese manufacturer to successfully launch a vehicle into the European market when the MG TF LE500 sports car went on sale.

MG TF LE500 Specification

The MG TF LE 500 is fully loaded with a high level of specification as follow: 

Air Conditioning.
16" 11 spoke alloy wheels in either black or silver shadow chrome, dependant on exterior colour. Bright pack on White, Blue, Red and Grey cars.
Black Pack on Orange and Black cars including fuel cap.
Black hood with glass Heated Rear Screen.
Front fog lamps.
Heritage body-coloured Hard Top with glass Heated Rear Screen.
ICE Fitment: Pioneer DEH P69001B with iPod connector in glove box, all linked into 6 speakers; Bluetooth connection kit available via stockists.
Leather seat facings.
Leather covered centre cubby boxes. 
Leather covered steering wheel.
Leather covered Handbrake grip.
Leather gear lever gaiter.
Black anodised gear knob.
Passenger airbag.
4 pot AP Racing front brake callipers.
Full size 16" spare wheel with scissor-jack tool kit.
Hood cover.
Volumetric and Perimetric alarm with battery back-up.Windstop.
ABS with EBD.
Numbered sequence on-interior-badge between occupants.
Electrically operated and heated door mirrors.
Electric power assisted steering.
Remote key-blip-operated double deadlocking.
Piano black interior finish.
Rear parking sensors.
New instrumentation.
New frontal styling.
Engine: 1.8 litre, 4 cylinder, 16 valve, DOHC, N Series engine developing 136ps with EU4 compliance._
Gearbox: 5 speed, close ratio PGI type.

Combined with a 3 year / 60,000 mile warranty and 3 year European roadside assistance.

All for just £16,399

Visit www.staddons.co.uk for further details of the TF LE 500

MG TF LE500 is a limited edition version it is available in the following colours: RavenBlack, Intense Blue, Scorched Red, Graphite Grey, Vibrant Orange and Chrystal White. So if you would like to buy, you will need to be quick.

The number of UK dealers has risen to 55, so you should be able to find one near you. Stephen Cox, sales and franchising manager said the following:-“MG is a uniquely British brand and everyone who has worked on it from the receptionist up to the managing director has been looking forward to its launch. Obviously we are launching into a period of what you could call economic recession but we are coping with that and what we are not going to do is to over produce. Because we’re dealing with relatively low volumes here we can do that. Next year the company is aiming to produce around 2,000 of the MG sports cars but, it’s a new beginning in many ways and we are planning to produce different models here. We’re looking to produce a saloon model which is still in the development stage at the moment but it will be an entirely new model. It won’t simply be a rehash of an old model. We’re expecting to be producing quite high volumes of saloon cars by the middle of 2010.”

Please feel freee to contact us for further information, to request a brochure, book a test drive or order your new MG TF LE500

MG TF LE500 Launch Weekend Pictures

MG The New Journey

The dealer network, which consists of over fifty privately owned independent, mainly family run garages, has invested in being the shop window for the MG brand and giving a personal service to every MG owner. Also, there will be appointed service agents across the country, so that every owner will not have to travel far to get the car serviced.MG UK’s Sales and Franchise Manager, Stephen Cox, said; "It’s not simply the number and geographical spread of dealers that make this such an important part of the launch; it’s the quality of the businesses involved.

“Top class, personal service is at the core of the LE500 launch and we will be delivering that promise by innovating in the way we deal with customers, as well as attracting owner managed businesses to deliver the brand experience. They have the time, expertise and in many cases, a track record to support the new car. Even as the LE500 is launched, dealers are still coming forward and MG UK Ltd is still welcoming enquiries".MG is also aiming high with the introduction of a Personal Technician Programme (PTP) that will ensure that each of the LE500s is effectively delivered with its own specially trained expert. This kind of service will ensure that each and every customer can be assured that the person responsible for their car knows it inside out. On the day a customer takes delivery of their new MG, their personal technician will introduce them to it and on the occasions when the car comes in for its regular servicing, they will be the one person responsible for the car.

MG has supported the new dealers in actively targeting staff for this role who are not just skilled technically but who have shown a genuine interest in the brand. A further benefit of this search, and the programme that all the personal technicians must undergo at Longbridge, is that all these specialists will also receive legacy training, so dealers will be in a position to fully support MG models that pre-date the new LE500.

Managing Director at Staddons MG, Simon Newman, said; “The launch is a great opportunity for dealers and public alike. Importantly MG is a comfortable fit with the brands that the majority of the new network currently represent, filling a real gap at the recreational and fun end of the sports car market. “I know my dealer colleagues have been impressed with MG UK’s approach to the car, the brand and their commitment to customer service. This dedication to the customer sits very comfortably with the way we do business. In this market we all know that the clients must come first and given MG’s focus on recruiting small owner run businesses to represent the brand, the customer is clearly their main priority too.

”The official dealer launch weekend was held on the 20 - 21 Sept when MG dealers all over the UK opened their doors as part of the public launch of the new model. As well as the opportunity to look around the LE500, potential customers were able to book a test drive and pick up a brochure and other MG branded goodies.

Production of the MG TF LE500 is running at about 45 cars a week, this will probably be increased shortly to 50. When the limited run of 500 has been completed, you will have the opportunity of ordering your own customised MG TF135 with the options available. Pricing for the MG TF135 is due to be announced around the 24 November 2008.

MG TF Production Line in Pictures

THE STORY OF LONGBRIDGE

The Longbridge factory, which began car production over 100 years ago, is about to open a new chapter in its illustrious career as the Nanjing Automobile Corporation prepares to restart the production of MG's there.

The story of Longbridge begins with its founder, Herbert Austin, the son of a Yorkshire farm bailiff. In 1883 at the age of 17 he went to Australia to begin his career as an engineer. After a number of jobs he joined the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company to help them overcome manufacturing quality problems. He advised them to set up a facility in Britain and in 1893 returned to England as manager of a new factory in Birmingham. He took the opportunity to experiment with what was then a recent invention – the ‘horseless carriage’ otherwise known as the motor car. After building two prototypes he was able to persuade Wolseley to add a motor vehicle to their product range.

By 1905 Austin was tired of working for other people and decided to set up on his own. He quickly found an empty factory at Longbridge outside Birmingham, built as a tin printing Works by a firm called White & Pike in 1894. The district was largely agricultural but though it was 7 miles from the city centre the location had the advantage of extensive existing workshops, clean air which was thought to benefit the paintwork, water from the River Rea, and excellent road and rail connections. In April 1906 he tested the first Austin car, a 25/30 hp with rudimentary bodywork. Success followed and in 1914 the Austin Motor Company became a public limited liability company with working capital of £250,000.

The same year, World War One broke out and British industry was turned over to wartime production. New workshops were built to make shells, aircraft and military vehicles and a hill was flattened to provide a Flying Ground where aeroplanes could be tested. The workforce mushroomed from 2,500 in 1914 to 22,000 by 1917. Austin was given a knighthood for his contribution to the war effort, when peace returned production was concentrated on one model of car, the large Austin Twenty. Though well engineered, it did not sell well and the expanded facilities also created bigger overheads. By 1921 the Company was in financial difficulty. Receivers were appointed and Austin lost sole control of his company and became Chairman of a Board of Directors.

Fortunately the reconstruction plan was successful. The product range was widened and the Austin Seven was introduced in 1922. This little car helped to move motor cars away from being the plaything of the wealthy and brought affordable motoring to the middle classes, enabling the company to secure 37% of the British market by 1929. The 1933 share issue was oversubscribed eight times and in 1936 Herbert Austin became Lord Austin. Longbridge was now a dominant force in the British motor industry. Its greatest rival was Morris Motors founded by William Morris (Lord Nuffield) and based at Cowley near Oxford. To stay ahead in 1938 Austin recruited Leonard Lord, the architect of Cowley’s modernisation, to do the same for Longbridge.

Another war was on the horizon. In 1936 Austin became Chairman of a shadow factory scheme set up by the government. At Longbridge Flight Shed was built, distinctive for its interior space and impressive roof structure. Close by was a new Aero Factory which would become known as East Works. A series of tunnels was also prepared to provide shelter from air raids and a safe place to relocate manufacturing operations in case of heavy bombing. Though he played a leading role in preparations for the war, Lord Austin did not survive long into it, dying of a heart attack in 1941 when thought to be making reasonable progress after a long bout of illness. Once again Longbridge made a wide variety of war products from aeroplanes and military vehicles to jerricans and steel helmets.

The post-war range of cars was of necessity based on the 1939 models with minor modifications. In 1946 the landmark ‘millionth Austin’, a top-of-the-range Sixteen, was celebrated with due ceremony, signed by the people who made it and retained for exhibition. The first new design was the Sheerline of 1947 which introduced the ‘Flying A’ bonnet mascot that characterised Austins' of this period. Britain’s post war recovery was slow and the motor industry suffered from fuel and materials shortages. The government urged a policy of ‘export or die’ because foreign currency was desperately needed to rebuild the shattered economy. Further site developments were needed to accommodate this. In 1948 a new Administration Block was built which, in the Cold War era, was rapidly christened the ‘Kremlin’. It was joined in 1951 by a new Car Assembly Building which would later be known as CAB 1.

In 1952 increasing competition from abroad prompted former rivals Austin and Morris to join forces as the British Motor Corporation (BMC). Shortly afterwards, in 1953, the second millionth car was produced. Leonard Lord was now Chairman and he decided on a two-pronged approach to product development. He began a collaboration with the Italian design house of Pininfarina to provide a new style for a range of cars with conventional engineering. At the same time chief engineer Alec Issigonis, who already had the Morris Minor to his name, joined the company to work on advanced engineering concepts. The result, in 1959, was the launch of the famous Mini. Rubber suspension, a transverse engine, tiny road wheels and front wheel drive were combined into a car only ten feet long with space for four adults. Like the Austin Seven it widened the range of car ownership and in time became a national icon. The car stayed in production for 41 years with a final total of 5.4 million. Issigonis went on to design the 1100 and 1800 and these three cars dominated Longbridge production in the 1960s.

Site development also continued. Production and design facilities were greatly extended, reinforcing Longbridge’s position as headquarters of the country’s biggest car making operation. The highest production figure ever recorded was in 1964-65 when 345,245 vehicles were made. But the British car industry was not as healthy as it seemed. In 1966 BMC joined with Jaguar Cars and Pressed Steel to create British Motor Holdings. Two years later it merged again with the Leyland Motor Corporation (which included Standard, Triumph and Rover) to create the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BL). BL’s first design was the Morris Marina of 1971. Assembled at Cowley, the engines and gearboxes were manufactured at Longbridge. Two years later the Austin Allegro, developed and built at Longbridge, replaced the 1100. Neither car was able to let BL recover its dominant place in the British marketplace. BL was struggling as Ford became stronger and imports grew in volume, including the rapidly improving products of Japan. At the same time the company’s image deteriorated. ‘British Leyland’ became a byword for strikes and poor quality.

As the company’s fortunes plummeted, the Labour government decided to rescue it by taking a majority shareholding in 1975. Efforts were focussed on solving industrial relations problems and replacing old products. The Austin Metro was launched in October 1980, the first new model to come out of Longbridge for 7 years. A modern body facility was built to install the robot technology which was needed to build it. In 1982 an MG Metro version was produced, the first MG to come out of Longbridge (MG was one of the Morris brands). In 1979 BL also entered into a collaborative deal with the Japanese Honda company. The first product from the partnership to be produced at Longbridge was the Rover 200 launched in 1984. BL changed its name to Rover Group in 1986 and chose to focus on the Rover and MG brands in an effort to restore the company’s tarnished image. Other badges gradually disappeared. Austin, the marque proudly associated with Longbridge since its inception, was dropped during 1987.

1979 was also the year the Conservatives returned to government with a policy of denationalisation. They allowed the development of the lightweight aluminium K-series engine to proceed at Longbridge, a vital part of future strategy. Then, in 1988, the government sold its shareholding in Rover Group to British Aerospace. The Honda collaboration continued and in 1989 a new Rover 200 was launched, the first model to use the K-series engine. In 1994 British Aerospace sold Rover Group on to BMW and Honda decided to end its association with the company. BMW set about designing its own Rover products. The Rover 75, introduced in 1998 and built at Cowley was aimed at the top end of the market. A new small car to be launched under the ‘MINI’ brand was being developed for Longbridge.
In 2000, however, BMW made a sudden decision break up Rover Group. Cowley was retained and the MINI was transferred there. Longbridge was sold to the Phoenix Consortium for a nominal £10 and a new company known as MG Rover Group was set up. The Rover 75 assembly line was transferred to Longbridge. The Rover 25 and 45 and the MGF completed the product range. The MGF was later replaced by the MG TF and MG badges were successfully applied to Rover models as well. But a new medium sized model was needed to replace the ageing Honda-based Rover 45. MG Rover searched hard for a collaborator but in 2005 the company’s problems became insuperable and in April it went into administration.

In July 2005 the administrators announced that the company’s assets had been purchased by the Nanjing Automobile Corporation (NAC), China’s oldest vehicle manufacturer. NAC began the re-engineering work required to bring a facelifted MGTF into production and invested over £250 million into the Longbridge site. However, on December 25th 2007 it signed a memorandum of understanding with rival Chinese automotive company Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). SAIC is China’s largest automotive manufacturer, producing over 2.7 million vehicles in 2008, for worldwide sale. Their own brand marques are Roewe and MG with a 51% stake holding in Ssangyong and joint ventures with GM and VW.

On 1st August 2008, the Longbridge production lines will once again role with the birth of the MG TF LE500, a limited edition soft top roadster sportscar.

MG ENTHUSIASTS AND CLUBS

It is doubtful that any other brand in the world has such a committed and large group of supporters, in part due to the fact that the MG brand was actually started by enthusiasts who wanted the cars to deliver all the elements so important to driving enthusiast.

With this enthusiast background, the very active MG club activities are no surprise, and indeed it is the largest following for a single brand in the world. Currently it is estimated that there are approximately 100,000 active MG enthusiasts worldwide, located mainly in the regions where MG cars were sold, and served by a variety of MG clubs ranging from very small local groups to large international organisations.

There are two main MG clubs who provide membership benefits on an international scale. The oldest is the MG Car Club that was formed in 1930 with the active support of the MG Car Company. This company support continued until the 1960s when the club became independent. Today, it has its headquarters located in Abingdon, England, very close to the only remaining part of what used to be the MG factory.

The younger of the main MG clubs is the MG Owners’ Club which was formed in 1973 as an independently run organisation and operates from its purpose built headquarters near to Cambridge, England.

The two clubs are fundamentally different in their structures and have their focus in slightly different areas of MG activities. This has enabled both clubs to prosper and grow over the years to a point where many MG enthusiasts find benefit in being members of both organisations. MG events have long been a major part of what the clubs organise for their members. The MG Car Club’s annual Silverstone event is the largest and longest running event.

MG ownership can be an enormous pleasure and the vast array of additional benefits that the clubs offer enables the MG owner to become a member of a very large friendly and helpful family.

For more information on the MG Car Club, visit http://www.mgcc.co.uk/
For more information on the MG Owners’ Club, visit http://www.mgownersclub.co.uk/
For more information on MG Products, visit www.staddons.co.uk