Econ. Int.le, auto, Cina, Usa Nyt 06-07-11
Una società cinese intende costruire MG a Oklahoma
NICK BUNKLEY
$2MD gli investimenti previsti dal gruppo automobilistico
cinese Nanjing Automoble Group per il tentativo di entrare nel promettente
mercato americano dell’auto, dove intende costruire una fabbrica MG Rover, il
primo stabilimento cinese negli USA, con 500 addetti.
Costruirà un nuovo coupé
dal 2008, in competizione con modelli Mazda, prezzo $20-25 000.
Assemblerà anche un fuoristrada in Inghilterra, e tre
utilitarie in Cina.
Diversi costruttori automobilistici cinesi hanno dichiarato
che mancano 2-3 anni per riuscire a esportare auto negli USA.
(Segue breve storia MG Rover)
Nyt 06-07-11
Chinese
Company Intends to Build MG’s in Oklahoma
By NICK
BUNKLEY
DETROIT, July 11 — Can the mystique of a British sports car be recreated by
a Chinese company in America’s
heartland?
That’s the bet by Nanjing Automobile Group,
which plans to resurrect the fabled MG marque in a tricontinental demonstration
of how truly global the automotive industry has become.
Nanjing, which purchased
the assets of the bankrupt MG Rover Group last year, aims to be the first
Chinese carmaker to open a factory in the United States. The company
has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday in Oklahoma to announce plans to build a newly designed MG TF Coupe there,
starting in 2008. It said the coupe would compete with cars like the Mazda Miata, which sells for
$20,000 to $25,000.
It also will assemble a convertible TF Roadster version at MG’s
now-shuttered factory in Longbridge, England, and three sedan models in China.
American and European operations for MG Motors will be based in Oklahoma City, 90 miles north of the new factory in Ardmore, Okla.
MG’s rebirth under Nanjing, which said it had $2 billion in
financing for the endeavor, comes as several Chinese companies are setting
their sights on the United
States, the world’s largest car market.
–
Several Chinese carmakers have said they are two to three
years away from exporting vehicles to the United States. One, Geely
Automobile, displayed a $10,000 sedan at this year’s Detroit auto show, although the car fell
short of American safety and emissions standards.
Geely and Chery Automobile, a state-owned company
that has sparred with General Motors over the similarity of its name to the
Chevy nickname for the Chevrolet brand, plan to sell cars in the United States
in 2008. Only Nanjing, however, has said it
intends to build vehicles outside China, where it will face higher
labor costs than in its home country.
“We want to be a global company,’’ said
Duke T. Hale, a former executive at Mazda, Isuzu and Lotus who will be chief
executive of MG Motors. “We don’t want to be a company that simply exports out
of China.
We don’t want to be seen as just another Chinese car company.’’
Nanjing also is
unique among the Chinese car companies in its plan to revive an established
brand with a Western following. Mr. Hale called that a critical advantage the
company held over its Chinese rivals. “I’ve got a brand name that still
resonates,’’ he said.
The company says its lineup will be true
to MG’s heritage, to the delight of enthusiasts such as Roger Parker, a
technical consultant with the MG Owners’ Club.
The club, run out of a large MG parts
shop near Cambridge, England, has about 40,000 members
worldwide. Many live in the United
States, despite the brand’s 26-year absence
here.
“If they don’t get the product right,
they will certainly do damage that will be difficult to recover from,” said Mr.
Parker, whom Nanjing
officials consulted about their plans. “It’s clear that they are very committed
and very conscious of the rich history that they have bought.”
–
MG’s limited appeal will ensure
that Nanjing
remains merely a niche player here.
But construction of the first Chinese
auto plant in the United
States, which will create more than 500 jobs, carries a great deal
of symbolism about the industry’s future.
–
“It wasn’t very long ago that
nobody believed the Japanese would build plants in the United States,”
said David E. Davis Jr., who co-founded Automobile magazine and now runs an online
publication for car lovers called Winding
Road. After Lee A. Iacocca, the brash chairman of
Chrysler, challenged them to do so, Mr. Davis added, “they did, and they blew
everyone’s pants off.”
–
(Storia) MG, originally called Morris Garages, began selling
cars in the 1920’s. Its iconic TC convertible was a big
hit in the United States
after servicemen grew attached to earlier MG models in Europe
during World War II.
“MG was really an integral part of the
foreign car revolution that started in the late 40’s and early 50’s,” Mr. Davis
said. “They weren’t terribly good cars, but they were so different and they
were so much fun to drive that we all forgave them for their lack of
reliability and fragility.”
The brand withdrew from the American
market in 1980, leaving a generation of enthusiasts longing for its return.
Sales continued in other countries as ownership passed through several hands,
including Honda and BMW, until production
ceased in April 2005 and all 6,000 workers at the factory in England were
let go.
“It’s the first sports car that I
remember as a child,” said Paul Fucito, who grew up around the corner from an
MG dealership in New Jersey
and remembers its closing.
Mr. Fucito, 34, a spokesman for George Washington
University, has never
lost hope that he will one day own an MG, although the company’s bankruptcy
last year raised doubts for him about the chances of that happening. He
participates in several online forums devoted to the brand and fantasizes about
a new MG, painted British racing green, with wire wheels and chrome accents.
“It’s been that dream car that I’ve
always wanted,” he said.
Several automakers have capitalized on
demand for nostalgic nameplates in recent years, including BMW with its
modernized Mini Cooper. Chevrolet has been deluged with requests to bring back
the Camaro after it unveiled a concept version in January.
Jeremy Anwyl, president of Edmunds.com,
a Web site that gives consumers advice about buying cars, said MG had the
potential to join the list of successfully resurrected marques, as long as Nanjing kept quality high
and prices low. “It’s not just a question of slapping an MG brand on something
and expecting it to be an automatic success,” he said.
Mr. Anwyl expects to see the new MG
models sporting the brand’s distinct vertical grille and octagonal logo but
without the flaws of earlier models.
“Hopefully some of the electrical
problems you wouldn’t bring back,” he said. “If you really want to go for
nostalgia, you put on a leaky roof.”
New York Times