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New £5million MG Motor Design facility opened at Longbridge
A new £5 million UK vehicle design and development centre was opened yesterday at the MG Motor UK facility on the remaining portion of what was once the sprawling MG Rover complex at Longbridge on the outskirts of Birmingham, to be responible for global design and development for the brand.
MG Motor UK is a subsidiary of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), China's largest automotive business, which owns the MG brand.
SAIC Motor European Engineering Technical Centre, to give it its full title, grew out of Leamington Spa-based Ricardo 2010 Consultants, formed to keep the considerable development and engineering expertise at MG Rover intact after the automaker went bust early in 2005. It played a key role establishing K-series engine production (both I4 and V6) at Nanjing, using tooling shipped from the UK, and getting the Roewe 750 evolution of the Rover 75 into production as well as the TF roadster, essentially a mid-90s design for which a replacement does not appear on the cards for now.
Of the 300 staff at the two facilities, there are 30 designers working on MG models as well as the Roewe brand, which is built in China.
"These two centres of excellence sit at the heart of the MG Birmingham plant where a new family of MG models are currently being designed and engineered," a spokesman said.
"The designing of new cars and the engineering and technical aspects of the cars is all happening here in the UK."
"It's a very significant day. SAIC could have gone anywhere in the world for this but they chose Birmingham and Longbridge. It's an important endorsement."
"The MG6 fastback will be built here later in 2010 and it will be followed by a saloon version next year. They will be both be sold here and in China."
MG Motor UK is a subsidiary of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), China's largest automotive business, which owns the MG brand.
SAIC Motor European Engineering Technical Centre, to give it its full title, grew out of Leamington Spa-based Ricardo 2010 Consultants, formed to keep the considerable development and engineering expertise at MG Rover intact after the automaker went bust early in 2005. It played a key role establishing K-series engine production (both I4 and V6) at Nanjing, using tooling shipped from the UK, and getting the Roewe 750 evolution of the Rover 75 into production as well as the TF roadster, essentially a mid-90s design for which a replacement does not appear on the cards for now.
Of the 300 staff at the two facilities, there are 30 designers working on MG models as well as the Roewe brand, which is built in China.
"These two centres of excellence sit at the heart of the MG Birmingham plant where a new family of MG models are currently being designed and engineered," a spokesman said.
"The designing of new cars and the engineering and technical aspects of the cars is all happening here in the UK."
"It's a very significant day. SAIC could have gone anywhere in the world for this but they chose Birmingham and Longbridge. It's an important endorsement."
"The MG6 fastback will be built here later in 2010 and it will be followed by a saloon version next year. They will be both be sold here and in China."
Wed, 16th Jun 2010