MG, Rover reunite

They once battled it out over the ownership of MG Rover, but Chinese car giants Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SAIC) and Nanjing Automotive Corporation have now joined forces.

In a new merger, SAIC paid out $285.7million (£145m) for the smaller of the businesses. In return, Yuejin – parent firm of Nanjing – received a 4.9 per cent stake in SAIC.

More than 100 car companies currently fight for a slice of the profits in China. And industry analysts agree this fragmented market is partly to blame for their lack of success outside its own country.

However, the newly bolstered SAIC could be perfectly placed to change that. The firm is about to launch the Roewe 750 in the UK – and a tie-up with Nanjing means it can also add the MG TF to the range. The two-seater roadster goes into production at Rover’s former site at Longbridge this year. SAIC’s existing joint ventures with General Motors and the VW Group – which have allowed it to produce cars such as the VW Passat and Cadillac CTS – already account for 14 per cent of the domestic market. The SAIC group sold 1.25 million vehicles in the first 10 months of last year alone.