MG set for global push as Chinese parent invests £4.5bn in growth plans
MG is set for a major international sales push as its Chinese parent invests £4.5bn to expand its global business.
The massive investment, spread over five years, is set to establish SAIC Motor as the leading automotive research and development company in China – the world’s largest car market.
SAIC’s European Technical Centre and European Design Centre at Longbridge will play a pivotal role in the expansion operation.
SAIC, which took on MG following the Longbridge firm’s collapse in 2005, is accelerating its business at a pace unmatched in Europe and the US.
Increasing sales of MG cars worldwide has helped to push SAIC into the top ranks of the prestigious Fortune 500 World rankings. In the past few years the firm has rocketed from 461st place to 130th.
The American Fortune magazine has just released the figures for 2012 showing that SAIC Motor climbed a further 21 places in the listing this year alone spurred on by a sales income of $67.25bn.
MG Motor UK is SAIC’s first car operation in Europe and the MG brand is now being introduced to new markets throughout the world, with engineers and designers in Birmingham at the heart of the expanding operation.
SAIC Motor has joint venture operations with both GM and Volkswagen, however, the star performer has been its wholly-owned brands of Roewe (the China-only brand) and MG. During the first half of 2012 sales of Roewe and MG grew by 12.2%.
Overall SAIC’s sales of vehicles in the first six months of this year hit 2,232,597, an 11.4% increase and set a new record despite the pace of the market slowing overall.
There was success too for SAIC’s joint venture with VW with a growth of more than10% in the first six months. The GM joint venture saw sales grow by more than 9.7% and Shanghai General Motors’ cars still occupy the number one spot for sales in the Chinese market.
In the first half of 2012 the high-end Roewe 950 model was introduced to the Chinese market along with the MG5 saloon. Much of the design and engineering work on the MG5 was carried out at Longbridge.
SAIC is continuing to increase investment in research and development both in China and Birmingham. Work is about to start on expanding the Design Centre at Longbridge which will double the size of the existing facility and an advanced Engine Test Cell facility has recently come on stream.
In China, SAIC Motor is spearheading new green tech vehicles to market, with input from the specialist engineers in Birmingham.
The Olympics has provided the firm with a strong platform to raise its profile and while the Jamaican and US track teams were based in Birmingham, MG supplied them with a fleet of MG6s to ferry them around the city.
The move aligned the car alongside such high profile athletes as Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay.
Gary Egan, MG’s Senior Operations Manager, said: “We are very proud to support both the Jamaican and American training camps.”
MG is also looking to increase expansion of its UK dealer network in an attempt to boost sales in its home market.
Latest recruit to the network is Brown & Gammons in Baldock, Hertfordshire. It has specialised in MG cars for 35 years, but until now had never held an MG franchise.
Chairman Ron Gammons said: “This is a dream come true for us. We were an authorised MG repairer years back and have worked on almost every MG model, but we never held the full MG sales franchise.
“We’re so proud to be appointed and can’t wait to start selling the new MG6 models, which I rate as highly as any of the MG classics. We love the MG history but with cars like the MG6 the brand has a great future.”
MG is also participating in this year’s British Touring Car Championships, which is helping to reinforce the brand’s sporting pedigree.
