At Full Chat

Worldwide, around 99.9 per cent of the people who've purchased new cars this year have not bought Rovers. In Britain so far in 2005, precisely 98.5 per cent of customers have decided Longbridge-badged products aren't for them. I'm not surprised by the poor demand. The India-built CityRover is the worst new car I've driven in recent years by a long way.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Mike Rutherford

19th April 2005

Official sales figures prove that Britons prefer cars from Kia of South Korea, re-vitalised Mazda of Japan and no fewer than 15 other manufacturers from all over the globe. Even MINI, a company with a two-car range, is outselling Rover, which has an extensive but tired line-up of seven small, medium and large derivatives.

The cold, harsh truth is that these stale models aren't wanted by enough people. Consumers are wise enough to know that there are more attractive, better-built, greater value-for-money cars than Rovers. It matters to Britain and even more to the Longbridge workers that the manufacturer and its 6,000 jobs survive in the West Midlands. But they can't, won't and shouldn't because the company is no longer viable.

As Auto Express went to press, there were rumours that the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) has cleverly landed itself the rights to build the 25 and 75 and other concessions and benefits. Will that save Longbridge? I doubt it. If Rovers are to be built anywhere, it's my guess that they'll be made by perfectly capable Chinese workers. Why would the SAIC take on comparatively expensive Western employees when it can hire Asian staff at a fraction of the cost?

The outlook isn't merely gloomy for Rover, it's catastrophic. It's now going through a period of bereavement. Understandably, there will be tears. But there is some hope, too. The MG marque is everything the Rover badge isn't - prestigious, admired around the world, credible, still very much alive and, very importantly, not in Chinese hands. Most of the Longbridge site can be developed, and it will hopefully be put to good use for much needed housing, shopping and entertainment on the edge of Birmingham.

MG could keep a corner plot for itself, but I suggest it copies Aston Martin and re-locates to a cheaper site, grabs as many start-up grants and concessions as it can and begins afresh. A reborn MG should acquire a state-of-the-art home, new management (although current design chief Pete Stevens should remain), fresh investors and new low-volume models. This would transform it into a classy English sports car specialist similar to TVR, Caterham and Aston. I'm prepared to put my money where my mouth is by investing my savings into such an all-new company, as long as it has a radically different approach and product range. How about you? Are you with me?