China's SAIC to make MG 6 model in Britain next year
SAIC Motor Corp. is on schedule to manufacture and sell its MG 6 sedan in the United Kingdom in the first quarter of 2011, says company President Chen Hong.
SAIC's latest initiative will make it the first Chinese automaker to manufacture and sell vehicles in a mature market.
The MG 6 cars will be made in Longbridge, England, a plant that will help SAIC to tap the European market, company executives have said. SAIC acquired MG Rover's 10,000-unit Longbridge plant after a merger in late 2007 with its much smaller rival, Nanjing Automobile Group.
Nanjing Automobile acquired the factory after MG Rover, the UK's latest domestic volume carmaker, collapsed through financial difficulties.
SAIC is among a growing band of Chinese firms, including Chery Automobile Co. and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, that hope to make their name globally. SAIC, China's largest domestic automaker, operates joint ventures with Volkswagen and General Motors Co. in China.
