MG3 begins ‘batch’ production

Production of the MG3 ‘supermini’ has begun at MG Motors in Longbridge, Birmingham, UK.

However, as with the MG6, the company prefers to describe production as ‘final assembly’ rather than a full production process, although design and engineering of the cars is carried out in Birmingham. Final quality control is carried out at the UK plant and the car has a UK VIN plate.

“We do batch production rather than continuous production while are market builds,” said a spokesman.

“The engine for the MG3 is our own engine,” he added. “The engine is built in a state-of-the-art engine factory in China, built to UK designs and specification. All of the engineering development work on the engine is initiated here in Birmingham.”

MG Motors is pinning its hopes on ithe new MG3 model to revive its fortunes after what directors described 2012 as a ‘challenging year’. 

MG Motors, with its somewhat unusual registered office address as International Headquarters, Q Gate, Lowhill Lane, Longbridge, Birmingham, B31 2BQ, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nanjing Automobile Corporation (UK) Limited. Last year saw production halved from 1,145 units to just 508 cars, with 811 vehicles sold. 

Turnover was £15.7 million in the year to the end of December 2012, a rise from £11.4 million in 2011. The losses were steady at £4 million. 

While in general car sales in Britain have risen remarkably, with 19 successive monthly production rises, directors at MG note that its sales have fallen short of management expectations due in part to a lack of products in its portfolio. The company is now endeavouring to focus on building brand awareness.           ∎