Nanjing reports MG dealer progress

Nanjing's sales and franchising manager Stephen Cox described dealer recruitment as “going brilliantly well.” “We have verbal agreements from the first ten dealers, and taken the opportunity to talk to some ex-MG-Rover dealers. They see the prospect of making money from the cars,” said Cox. He said seven pre-production MG TFs had been built at Longbridge last month with a further twenty to follow in April, with components such as the K-Series engine brought in from China.

UK sales are unlikely before the autumn. Despite the upbeat talk, ex-MG Rover dealers are reacting cautiously to MG's planned return, with many expressing concerns about the age of the MG-badged cars. “Any franchise has to be judged on the proposition and potential and that's the big unknown here,” said the dealer principle of a former franchise in the Midlands. “They're not new cars and they have to be looked at in that context.” A Yorkshire-based dealer principle, whose franchise has connections with MG dating back to 1924, said he was “interested but very wary.” “Having said that, MG has the heritage, and with sport cars they can still generate interest. I think saloon cars will need to be more sophisticated. We're not rushing headlong into anything.”

Chris Voller of Sussex-based Crawley Down described the TF as “old at the death,” but described the list of parts suppliers secured by Nanjing as 'impressive,' and said this gave him confidence. “I'd say the jury's still out at the moment, but MG as a brand can survive, and I think it could work,” he said, adding that the internationalisation of the car industry meant buyer resistance to Chinese ownership was unlikely to be a problem. He said an MG-badged cabriolet 2+2 would be a big seller.