90 Seconds with AFS: MG and its Global Expansion

As the automotive industry in China began to blossom about two decades ago, domestic manufacturers looking to export needed marketable names. The quickest way to do this was to acquire an established brand and polish it for new life. Brands like Geely’s Volvo have worked while names like Borgward have languished. And then there was the state-owned SAIC, which is playing the long game. When BMW decided to sell the former Rover Group, local investors were there to keep the British automaker going. As long as the company remained in local hands, the new company was allowed to use the Rover name, which BMW controlled. In order to protect themselves from any future issues, the new company warmed up another marque that they owned free and clear: MG. The new enterprise was renamed the MG Rover Group. Underfunded, the MG Rover Group went into receivership in 2005 and the company was acquired by the Nanjing Automobile Group. Shortly after the purchase, state-owned SAIC merged with Nanjing, giving SAIC control of the former MG Rover Group and its properties, among them the MG brand.

For the YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNb34JZhiM8&t=27s

Find out how AFS can work for you: www.autoforecastsolutions.com

Joe McCabe: [email protected]

Sam Fiorani: [email protected]