Nanjing Automotive have stated that production of the MG TF (the new
one, naturally!) and the ZT (big saloon) will restart in Longbridge as
well as the Chinese production, maybe in 2007. But I have my doubts -
since they have shipped all the production equipment to China, what are
they going to use to make cars with in Longbridge? There's nothing left
there but empty sheds. Also there are apparently problems with who owns
the rights to what with the MG TF - bodyshell production was
subcontracted to another company, Mayflower, who retain the rights to
the interior structure (but not the exterior panels, which are
apparently still owned by Phoenix, the owners of MG Rover when it went
bust), and they have refused to play ball until someone pays them the
significant debt they were owed by MG Rover when they went under.
Similarly with the interior - the company that made it owns the rights
to the design. They could design a new interior (probably overdue
anyway), but that adds more time and expense.
I'm not holding my breath...
Richard Gosling
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