REPORT: Production lines halted at MG's Longbridge plant. This is not a repeat from 2005.
by Jonathon Ramsey on Oct 6th 2009 at 6:29PM 
It is a travesty that the initials "MG" are coming to be a convenient epithet for the term "woe." The British sportscar maker has had an exceedingly trying history recently, and things haven't got any better with word that its owner, MG Motor UK Ltd. (which is really Nanjing Automobile Corporation), is reportedly closing the company's Longbridge plant.
Production of the MG TF was back in order early last year, but economic turbulence made the factory's fortunes equally bumpy. It hasn't helped that the last couple of special editions the company has put out, the MGTF LE500 and the 85th Anniversary MGTF, haven't been so well received. MG Motor said it couldn't guarantee stability and now, 2009 production has ceased. There were rumors of a new 2010 MG model coming out... but that was a long time ago, and things have lately been as quiet as the now-shuttered Longbridge factory.
[Source: BBC]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
why not the LS2LS7? 6:52PM (10/06/2009)
Truly shocking.
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JayP 7:10PM (10/06/2009)
Quit stringing the poor girl along.
Put her to sleep already. :(
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adrian 7:25PM (10/06/2009)
Nanjing were never serious about keeping the Longbridge plant open for the long term. Anybody who thought they would are fooling themselves.
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Tony 7:40PM (10/06/2009)
The British labour unions had a play in this as well. The North American auto worker should look to the British auto industry with foreboding of what is to come. There is no home grown British owned car company left. The world has fed on the remnants since the eighties.
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Rich 12:27PM (10/07/2009)
The British automobile industry was nationlised in the 1960s and 70s with disastrous results. The misguided Labour governments brought them in, and the even more misguided Thatcher government took one look and said "What's this? We don't want this!" and promptly destroyed it (along with the rest of the British manufacturing industry).
Now, if they'd been rescued by the government and stood up again as going concerns, (all without nationalisation), we might still be driving Rovers and MGs, along with Triumphs, Hillmans, and the like. And Mini wouldn't be spelt all in capitals.
In other words, I'm calling BS on Tony.
JZ 8:02PM (10/06/2009)
Sounds like MG doesn't have much desirable product. They should shoot for being a niche manufacturer and follow Morgan's example: produce some cars that look like MG classics on the outside but have upgraded safety features and modern running gear under the skin.
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Jeff Banks 11:39PM (10/06/2009)
I've never heard the words 'running gear' and 'modern' mentioned in the same sentence when used to describe Morgan.
cowboy bob 10:25PM (10/06/2009)
Doesn't look all that good to me. Let it die, or bring back a "retro" look with a V-6.
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Tony2X 2:13AM (10/07/2009)
The original MGF and subsequent cars were actually pretty sweet cars for their day and the road tests weren't absolutely scathing as you might expect. I think the journos felt genuinely nostalgic to be driving such a relic!
But does this mean the death of MG in the UK? They are doing quite well in China selling vastly updated versions of the ZT and an all new midsize car is on the way that may be a good springboard for the Chinese into Europe.
One thing is for sure, the poor sods that signed up to be MG dealers all over again are left with a bunch of highly polished turds to offload at bargain money.
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Bloke 8:47AM (10/07/2009)
Not really surprising, given that Nanjing basically rehashed what is now a fourteen year old design and re-opened only a very small part of the former Longbridge plant for very limited production numbers. With the economic downturn washing in, it really didn't stand a chance. Still, we'll see if any further MG models will be built there as promised - I'd be surprised if Nanjing leaves it permanently idle.
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Francis 9:38AM (10/07/2009)
....and nothing of value was lost.
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hmmwv 10:55AM (10/07/2009)
I very much doubt NAC will close down Longbridge for good, that's practically the only way to show that MG is still a British brand, and the Chinese customers care about that a lot. In the worst case scenario they still gonna keep the small design studio and engine plant open in UK.
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Rich 12:31PM (10/07/2009)
I never expected any different, but I hoped they might revive the brand.
The TF isn't a bad car, even today. It's just not as good as the current MG -- the MX5. The market for an MG roadster is wide open, and would cannibalise sales from Mazda; if only they could build an up-to-date competitor!
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