JustBritish

A new sales centre will open at MG Motor UK’s Birmingham plant, the event will be marked with a Macmillan Coffee Morning and a weekend of celebrations.

The MG Sales Centre will open on 30th September 2011, coinciding with the final stages of ‘The Great British Charity Test Drive’, which has seen fleets of the latest MG cars tour the country to raise cash and support Macmillan cancer Support and Help for Heroes.

The opening of the MG Sales Centre will see one of the biggest Macmillan coffee mornings ever held, with a number of VIPs and the press invited.

MG employees and their families will be taking part in an afternoon of activities such as face painting, children’s entertainment, bouncy castles and a miniature farm will be available for children to pet a number of small animals.

Employees will have the opportunity to try cake baking with the cakes being sold to raise more money for the Macmillan charity.

The weekend will see the new MG Sales Centre open to the public, with opportunities to test drive the new MG6 GT fastback and MG6 Magnette sports saloon.

Clint Cordle, MG Motor UK’s Marketing Manager, said: “We’re planning a fun, family event to mark what is an important development in the new MG story.

“The brand is about fun and this will be a great way to celebrate. But we’re also hoping the celebrations will be well supported so that we can give even more support to Macmillan, which is such a worthy charity.

“We’ve ordered in plenty of coffee in what could be the biggest coffee morning ever held in Birmingham.”

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.

MPs have demanded a government-backed inquiry into the collapse of MG Rover is forced to publish its findings.

The independent investigation began in June 2005 but has so far not reported any of its conclusions. In January it was revealed it had cost £11.8m.

The Birmingham car maker went bust in April 2005 with the loss of 6,000 jobs.

The business and enterprise committee of MPs has called for the findings to be made public, but the government has refused to set inspectors a deadline.

The government called in fraud and insolvency specialists to help the official inquiry into the failure of the firm, which was bought by Nanjing Automobile Corporation in July 2005.

‘Community destroyed’

Mid-Worcestershire Conservative MP Peter Luff, who chairs the business and enterprise committee, said the inquiry had taken long enough.
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