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Re: Rover today

To: triumphs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Rover today
From: Gerhard.Wiederholl@t-online.de (Gerhard Wiederholl)
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 21:38:16 +0200
References: <43.3d7a64e.26372dd0@aol.com>
Leon, thank you for the Rover updates,

I watch this topic as well, but in German newspapers and magazins. The recent 
"DER SPIEGEL", a usually well informed news magazin , issue 17/2000, has some  
additional informations.

The title is(translated):

Act of Ramification

content in short:


Nothing is fixed until now and neither Mr. Towers nor Alchemy have a contract 
or 
control on any part of Rover. Alchemy is in a good position because BMW wants 
to 
get rid of Rover very fast, which might allow Alchemy to dictate conditions. 
Alchemy might as well say that they are no longer interested and go away. And 
the rival bid of Mr. Towers is the worst situation for BMW imaginable.

On the Rover auction the price might come down now because Mr. Towers wants to 
have a lot more from BMW than they want to give away and he promises to save 
more jobs. He not only wants the Rovers 25, 45, 75 and Longbridge, but also the 
new Mini and the Oxford factory. But the new Mini is designed to fit in a model 
range, which BMW wants to sell in the future.

BMW has to regard the public mood against them in the UK which might put them 
into a position that they have to accept something they donīt want.

If BMW should decide that  neither the offer of Alchemy nor the one of Phoenix 
(Mr. Towers) are acceptable, they have alredy made clear that they will close 
the Longbridge factory.

An other problem is that in the past BMW integrated Rover more and more into 
the 
BMW group which means for example that there is presently a factoy beeing built 
near Hams Hall. There they wanted to make all the 4 cylinder engines that 
BMW/Rover needed. Without Rover it makes not much sense to run this factory. 

One member of the BMW managing board said: "We should reconsider making engines 
in England which we can make in Germany much cheaper. The  exchange rate of the 
pound is a real problem."

Next problem: In the past the tooling for the production of the new Mini was 
moved from Oxford to Longbridge, because Longbridge was under utilized. Now 
they 
need to transport everything back to Oxford .....

But maybe they will not have to do this. "DER SPIEGEL" asked  a member of the 
BMW managing board, if the pressure from British politicians is that strong 
that 
they would  include the new Mini with the Rover sale "We donīt want this in any 
case, but probably anything is possible now. "

Gerhard Wiederholl



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