MG's Chinese success story

The race to bring MG back to the UK is gathering pace.

Last week the firm released information about its new British dealerships, and now it has announced how popular the rejuvenated brand is becoming in China.

A total of 41 dealerships are already open across the Far East country focusing on the launch of the MG7 – a model based on the old MG ZT saloon. Chinese customers have already placed 7,500 notices of intention to place orders, 1,250 of which have already paid a deposit.

In China, prices for the new model range from £12,600 to £22,260, with both 1.8-litre turbo and 2.5-litre V6 powerplants available. While the MG7 will eventually be sold in the UK, models bought by Chinese customers will not be built at Longbridge.

Later this year, the redesigned MG TF will go on sale in special edition LE500 form. Powered by a 1.8-litre 133bhp engine, the TF will return 35.8mpg and produce 185g/km of CO2.