Waiting time is over. Just 20 months after acquiring the assets of MG Rover and Powertrain in July 2005, NAC MG, China's first international car brand, has celebrated the first production car rolling off the line.

The importance of this event was such that it was witnessed by nearly 1000 invited guests including leaders from the JiangSu provincial government, the NanJing CCP Committee and the NanJing Municipal Government, along with MG's global suppliers, distributors and partners, Chinese and non-Chinese consultants and of course the world media.

While the MG plant (now the world's largest single power assembly line) incorporates equipment brought over from the former MG Rover plant at Longbridge, the Chinese-built fully automated welding and assembly line is capable of simultaneous production of multiple models. Initially there will be three Chinese-built MG models including the MG TF sports car and the MG7 series (the latter based on the British Rover 75/MG ZT series).

The MG TF becomes the first ever Chinese-built sports car, while keeping its British sports car heritage. NAC MG claims the new production line allows the Chinese MG cars to meet world class levels of construction and quality.

This official celebration of the first car off the line not only symbolises the full launch of the Chinese MG brand, but also marks a new age of development for the Chinese motor industry as a whole. Chairman HaoLiang Wang says "The purpose of the MG project is to create a brand-new self dependent Chinese brand which has the advantage of already being recognised as an internationally well respected brand. From the outset this was an advanced project that has delivered competitive and technologically advanced products. The project is hugely different from the traditional joint ventures and the purely domestic products of the Chinese automobile industry."

The automobile industry is the fifth largest industry in China, but with China being the third largest consumer market for automobiles in the world huge emphasis is now being placed on how the country can further improve its competitiveness and become a major world power on the automotive stage. The Chinese MG project is just the start.

Trevor Nicosia - 6 Apr 2007