The MG brand is to return to Ireland after the Nanjing Automobile Corporation (NAC), the new Chinese owner of MG marque, confirmed that it is planning to sell a version of the TF sports car here next year.
Some 30 Irish dealers lost their franchises when the British carmaker, MG Rover, went into receivership in 2005 after talks with another Chinese car manufacturer, the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), collapsed. The closure spelt the end of official sales of the historic British marques in Ireland.
Now, however, MG is set to return. A recent announcement from NAC, which has established a European base at MG's former home at the Longbridge production facility in Birmingham, confirmed that assembly of a version of the TF two-seat sports car will begin at the plant in September.
"Ireland will be close behind the TF's launch in the UK; as soon as the UK is up and running, there will be moves into Ireland, probably by mid-2008," said the company's spokesman, Martin Hayes. However, he stressed that no official announcement has yet been made in regard to the expansion of sales outside of Britain.
No Irish dealers have yet been appointed by NAC to sell the new MG cars, although several are expected to apply for the franchise in the coming weeks. "There has strong interest from dealers across Europe," said Hayes. "These will be assessed over the coming months."
Irish car dealer Pat White, who was chairman of the MG Rover franchise dealers association when the carmaker collapsed in 2005, said many of the previous franchise holders would be interested in selling MG cars again.
White has already approached NAC himself to re-apply to become an Irish franchise holder. However, he said that many Irish dealers still felt they were treated unfairly by the British carmaker in the run-up to the collapse, and also by the administrators following the carmaker's demise.
"There is still a lot of bad feeling at the way MG Rover left its dealers in a vulnerable position," he said. "And since then the administrators have taken the meat and are now coming back looking for the bones." Despite this, he said interest in the historic marque is still high in Ireland.
"I will put the past behind me, there are a lot of dealers who are still passionate about MG and would be interested in taking on the franchise again," he said. "However, as a gesture of goodwill to those who own MG Rovers in Ireland, the company should compensate them for their losses." This gesture, he said, could be used to compensate those who had experienced problems with warranties.
Early models of the new MG TF sports car, which will have some minor modifications and will be powered by an adapted version of the original 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engine to bring it in line with European emissions standards, will be sold in Britain.
Production of the sports car, which is manufactured in China from the original Longbridge machinery and then re-assembled in Birmingham, will be limited until demand has been assessed. If demand is deemed strong enough, production is expected to be stepped up to around 15,000 cars a year, as the marque is re-launched across Europe.
Because of Ireland's current vehicle tax regime, which penalises high capacity engines, it is expected that the number of 1.8-litre TF sports cars sold here will be small. But once dealers have been appointed and the marque has been re-established, it is expected that further models wearing the once highly regarded MG badges, will be offered by NAC.
While official figures still reveal that some new MG and Rover vehicles have been registered in Ireland since the start of the year, these are cars that existing dealers still have in stock and are not the new models produced by NAC.