BIRMINGHAM, England, After a long break in China, the MG brand is set to reappear in the motoring world with a foot in first where it all started…..the UK. The first car set for production under the new owners is a MG6 which is slated to roll off the line next week at the Chinese-owned company’s Longbridge plant, two years after the car’s introduction at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show.
MG Motor, which runs the U.K. plant, is a subsidiary of China’s Shanghai Auto (SAIC), which took over the MG brand four years ago when it acquired smaller Chinese automaker Nanjing Auto. The MG6 is a four-door hatchback which the company calls it a “sports fastback” and it is a companion to SAIC’s own Roewe 550 sedan. Engines in both models include normally aspirated and turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder units.
SAIC originally said the MG6 would begin UK production in late 2010 for the European market. A version of the MG6 for the Chinese market is assembled at SAIC’s Lingang plant.
