Chinese MGs ready

It could be - after Nanjing Automobile Group revealed ambitious plans to launch four MG models, including a completely new saloon and hatchback.

The Chinese maker has already assembled a handful of TF roadsters at the Longbridge factory in the West Midlands, and will start full production in May. Initially, the two-seater drop-top will be offered to British buyers only. And if it proves success­ful, Europe-wide sales could begin towards the end of the year.

There is already a Chinese-built version of the old Rover 75 and MG ZT four-door, called the MG7. It will go head-to-head with the forthcom­ing Roewe 750 produced by rival brand SAIC. By the autumn, motorists will get their first glimpse of the MG3 - which is set to be a replacement for the ZR hatchback.

Company sources tell us the car is expected to be a big seller, with bosses hoping to shift more than 65,000 examples a year. The range will be completed in early 2008 by the arrival of the MG5 compact sal­oon. Not much is known about this model, but it's set to replace the ZS and could be based on a shortened version of the MG7 platform.

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