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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,...

SHANGHAI (AP) - SAIC Motor Corp., a partner of both Volkswagen and General Motors in China, is gearing up to begin making its own brand of cars, aiming to begin exports to major markets including Europe by 2007. The company recently invested 3.68 billion yuan (US$460 million; euro377 million) in a new unit, SAIC Motor Manufacturing Co., to handle its own-brand production. It aims for an annual capacity of 600,000 SAIC-brand vehicles, including both cars and commercial vehicles, by 2010, said Zhu Xiangjun, a SAIC spokeswoman. Most of the cars now made by SAIC are produced in its joint...

LONDON (Reuters) - Administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers said on Friday it had selected China's Nanjing Automobile to buy the assets of bankrupt carmaker MG Rover and its engine producer Powertrain. "Nanjing has indicated its intention to relocate the engine plant and some of the car production plant to China, to retain some car production plant in the UK and to develop an R&D and technical facility here," PwC said in a statement. Chinese rival Shanghai Automotive Corp. (SAIC) and a British consortium had also bid to buy MG Rover assets.

British car maker MG Rover to become property of a Russian oligarch 04/30/2005 16:56 The purchase of MG Rover could probably have a bigger response in Western business world in comparison with Roman Abramovich's acquisition of Chelsea The British automobile company MG Rover, which is currently experiencing a financial collapse, might become the property of a Russian businessman in the near future. It is not ruled out that MG Rover's new owner will be the company Ruspromavto, owned by oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Alexander Yushkevich, the chairman of Ruspromavto's board of directors, said that such an acquisition should fit the development...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Two of Iran's state-owned auto manufacturers are considering buying MG Rover, the last major British-owned car manufacturer which collapsed this month, the semi-official ISNA student news agency said on Friday. The 100-year-old carmaker, which once made the iconic Mini and the Land Rover, stopped production after failing to secure a rescue deal with China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. "Iran Khodro and SAIPA are considering taking over Britain's Rover," ISNA quoted an unidentified official of Iran's Ministry of Industries and Mines as saying. Iran Khodro, the Middle East's largest carmaker, has ambitious plans to produce 1 million...

MG Rover, the last major British-owned carmaker, is heading for administration, to the embarrassment of Prime Minister Tony Blair's Government as it seeks re-election on its economic credentials.The 100-year-old carmaker, which once made the iconic Mini and the Land-Rover, had hoped China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) would invest in the company, allowing it to continue production. But failure to secure a deal with SAIC forced the collapse of the company yesterday, putting 6000 jobs at risk at its Longbridge plant near Britain's second-largest city, Birmingham. Another 15,000 jobs could be affected at suppliers. MG Rover's blue-uniformed workers were downcast...

LONDON (AP) - Cash-strapped car manufacturer MG Rover Group is going into financial administration after a proposed takeover deal with a Chinese firm fell through, the British government said Thursday night.  "MG Rover has announced that their board has decided to call in the receivers,'' Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said.  Rover said it had asked PriceWaterhouseCoopers to "accept engagement to advise the board of directors on the current position at the company.''  Earlier Thursday, Rover - the last major British-owned carmaker - suspended production at its British factory and called on the government to firm up its...

Chancellor Gordon Brown has promised to do everything possible to secure an MG Rover tie-up which could save 6,000 jobs.Mr Brown met the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and finance minister Jin Renqing to push the case for the partnership between MG Rover and Shanghai Automotive Industry Group. The deal with the state-owned car company is seen as the last chance to safeguard the future of Rover's West Midlands plant and its 6,000 workers. Shanghai Automotive's proposed £1 billion investment in Rover is awaiting approval by its owner, the Shanghai city government, and by the National Development and Reform Commission, which...

BEIJING: Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp's (SAIC) planned purchase of troubled British car firm MG Rover has run into difficulties with Chinese regulators stalling on a decision, the Financial Times reported. It said state regulators are resisting British pressure to fast track approval, angered by Rover's decision to reveal it was in negotiations with SAIC, China's largest state-run automaker. For the deal to proceed, SAIC needs approval from the Shanghai city government, its owner, and from the National Development and Reform Commission, which is responsible for foreign investments by state-owned companies. However, Rover's decision to reveal it was in talks...