China’s SAIC, owner of the MG and Roewe brands, will set up a 50,000-unit capacity assembly plant in Thailand, Automotive News China reports. The Shanghai-based company will partner the Charoen Pokphand Group in this venture, which will build cars for sale in the ASEAN region. This is no big surprise, as news of their intentions surfaced earlier in the year.
SAIC and CP Group, the latter controlled by billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont, will initially invest 1.8 billion yuan (RM885 mil) in the JV and plan to start sales in 2014, according to an SAIC statement. The Chinese will own 51% stake, with CP holding the rest. Annual capacity is planned to eventually reach 200,000 units.
In China, SAIC partners market leaders GM and Volkswagen. It took control of the MG brand via a merger with Nanjing Automobile Group Corp, which bought the British brand and other assets for 604 million yuan (RM296 mil) in 2005 after MG Rover went bust.
Click here to see the MG3, MG’s five-door supermini class hatchback. Thai-made, China-owned MGs anyone?
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Dr M – Father of Thai motor industry.
yup thanks to dr apa nama and his cronies legacy…*sarcasm mode*
Malaysia always think that it is the ASEAN motor hub, but the reality is it is not. What we have is a government that always take advantage of poor average Malaysian. Proton can only sell to Malaysian, and it is overprice to average Malaysian. I don’t know if it is true, do we has the most highway with tolls? It has been so long, I don’t know why this government can even survive till today?
great…another setup in Thailand. This government is an utter failure at managing both its local account as well as foreign investment.
Fail big time.
Hi, Paul…. Nothing to do with this post, is the evoque coupe comes with 5 cameras for local version?
Hi, Paul…. Nothing to do with this post, is the evoque coupe comes with 5 cameras for local version?
Confidence is urgently needed.
As long as it doesn’t carry the “unique” Chinese design of many Chinese cars, and with the right pricing, i think the market should have no problem of accepting them.
With this new set up, not only the Japs and Koreans are giving Proton a run for its money, the Chinese are also joining the bandwagon. Hope Proton can sustain!
Giving Malaysia runs of it’s money, not Proton. Proton is sucking Malaysian.
So sad to see MGs and Rovers become Chinese Milo-tins
Go go go NAP… yeahaaa
NAP, NAP, NAp, Nap, nap, ZZzz, Zzzz, zzzz…
keter nih??? baik aku beli PROTON….
krete pakai buang.. 2-3 tahun je, pas tu nak jualpun tak laku
Macamlah Proton Sawi
The Chinese and Indians are really smart actually, they know that their efforts would be futile if they market their own branded vehicles and hence they embarked on a buying spree on established brands like jaguar land rover, MG and Saab to name a few. but of cause none of this is possible without truck loads of cash which the Chinese and Indian billionaires have no problem coming up with.
Interesting to see a Chinese company opening another facility wit such capacity outside their homeland but in d same region.
But to d guys behind our NAP, hope u r aware of these happenings n not be ‘katak bawah tempurung’
I don’t think there’s any issue for MG being Chinese owned, as long as the MG cars are designed by the Longbridge workforce.
exactly, i wouldn’t mind either, just like how the Kuwait government owned 36.7% of Daimler AG, Renault owns 1.55% and Nissan owns 1.55% of Daimler AG, but that doesn’t make Mercedes-Benz a middle eastern or french or japanese product.