NAC: OK for MG in OK?
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Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Published : 20 Jul 2006 17:43
While our indigenous auto industry continues to suffer, foreign owned automakers are still expanding in the US.
Nanjing Automobile Corp (NAC), the company that bought the assets of the UK’s MG-Rover Group after it collapsed two years ago, has signed a memorandum of understanding that could lead to a new plant in Ardmore, Oklahoma, to build MG sports cars. If so, it would be the first Chinese automaker to open a factory in the US.
“We're viewing ourselves as a global company, not a Chinese company,” said Duke T. Hale, 56, CEO of MG Motors North America, a joint venture with Nanjing Automobile that would operate the Oklahoma plant and market and distribute the vehicles.
Although initial plans are to build no more than 12,000 to 16,000 cars a year, it could be a smart move. The MG brand has high recognition in the US and a long legacy with the baby boomer generation. "MG stands for superb style but most of all it's about passion," said Yu Jianwei, president of NAC. "I believe with that passion, with our strategy, with the efforts of our teams in the UK and China, the MG project will be a success.
Meanwhile, Nanjing has moved most of the equipment from the former Rover facility in Longbridge, Birmingham, UK, to a new plant being built in China. Capacity there is expected to be 200,000 cars and 250,000 engines a year. NAC will retain a presence at Longbridge but only to assemble cars from kits shipped from China. Longbridge had been producing over 100,000 vehicles a year before its closure.
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