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Full-scale car production resumed at Britain’s Longbridge auto plant under its Chinese owners on Friday, reviving the factory which was mothballed when MG Rover went bankrupt in 2005.

MG production resumes in Britain.

Full-volume production of the two-seater MG TF LE500 sports car was underway at the facility in Birmingham, Britain’s second city, giving a much-needed boost to the country’s motor industry. After 100 years of vehicle production in Birmingham, the traditional heart of Britain’s motor industry, about 6,000 jobs were lost when historic car manufacturer MG Rover collapsed.

Nanjing Automotive Company (NAC) bought MG Rover’s assets for 53 million pounds in July 2005. They were taken over last year by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC).

“We have all worked extremely hard to meet our commitment to commence production of the MG TF in August,” said MG UK corporate communications manager Eleanor De La Haye.

“We are delighted to have reached this important point and are looking forward to seeing the cars in showrooms shortly. We have taken the very best options from the car that you saw before and put them into one package. If you look at the pre-orders that we have had through our dealers, about 70 percent are already sold and that tells its own story.”

The Longbridge plant started up in 1905 on the site of a former print works. In its heyday, the factory produced 10,000 cars per week.

Gary Hagan, director of marketing for NAC MG UK, said: “The launch of this car also marks the re-introduction of the MG brand to the UK. Existing MG owners, our huge band of enthusiasts and fans of the authentic sports car driving experience have looked forward to this day for a long time.”

The collapse of MG Rover in 2005 was not the only setback for the British motor industry, as French automaker Peugeot withdrew from Ryton in nearby Coventry and Jaguar’s plant at Browns Lane in Coventry was also closed.

MUNICH — BMW plans to export nearly 500 electric versions of its Mini car to California, company sources said.

The electric Minis are being built at the Mini factory in Oxford, England, without engines, gearboxes or fuel tanks, then shipped to Munich, Germany, where they are being fitted with electric powertrains.

BMW sources told Automotive News Europe that 490 of the Minis will be leased to selected customers in California and 10 will be used as show cars.

The electric Minis are painted silver and have yellow roofs, the sources said.

BMW engineers working on the electric Minis are part of a new division called Project i established by the automaker to develop low-emission city cars.

The electric Minis will help BMW to meet new California regulations that will require carmakers selling cars in the state to offer zero emission vehicles.

Mini spokesman Cypselus von Frankenberg did not confirm that BMW is building electric Minis.

“BMW will announce whether it will build electric vehicles or not later this year,” he told ANE.

Other carmakers are developing electric cars.

Volkswagen, Daimler, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen and Renault have all announced electric-vehicle programs in recent months, joining several U.S. and Japanese automakers that are working on the technology.

The Midlands automotive sector has received a second major shot in the arm with the news that MG owner Shanghai Automotive has told UK dealers it expects to produce 600 of the new TF LE500 models between the start of production in August and the end of the year. That came as the new boss of Jaguar told Birmingham executives yesterday that the company is staging a fight back against its rivals. He spoke out just 24 hours after Jaguar Land Rover revealed plans to launch a recruitment drive to find up to 600 new employees, less than a month after a £1.15 billion takeover by Tata Motors of India was completed.

SAIC’s UK dealers says first of the new sports cars are expected to be in UK showrooms in September and price details are expected to be released in the next few weeks. Nanjing Automotive, which had previously owned the Longbridge brand, appointed 50 UK dealers last summer ready for the scheduled launch of the model in September last year. Following its merger with SAIC at the start of this year there had been concerns that the dealership arrangements could change. However, one dealer has now confirmed that the original supply agreement is being upheld and the first cars will be rolling off the production lines at Longbridge very shortly.
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Trevor Wilkinson, the founder of TVR, the small British carmaker known for nimble little sports cars that early owners often assembled from a kit, died Wednesday in Minorca, Spain. He was 85.

His death was confirmed by Marshall Moore, president of the TVR Car Club of North America.

The soft-spoken Mr. Wilkinson built his first car in 1947 as a race special and incorporated TVR Engineering (later simply TVR) the next year. The company name was a shortened version of his first name.
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