Taking pride in the UK car industry perhaps requires something of a gear change in thinking. It’s true, there are no UK owned mass production car companies left, and it’s easy to take a negative view of this. But as MG, now owned by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, unveils its brand new MG6, it’s hard not to feel optimistic about car making in the UK, even if the company in question is owned by a Chinese firm.
But how good is this MG going to be? Will its owners be calling up their breakdown cover providers every time they take it out on the road? It’s all too easy to discount Chinese manufacturing as lower quality than its European counterparts, so when we hear that the parts for the new MG have been assembled in China, we may find ourselves wincing a little.
But China has become the workshop of the world, and together with a great many low quality products, Chinese factories also make some of the most impressive. The iPhone, for example, is manufactured in China, along with just about every lap top in the world.
It’s good news indeed that the MG is finally back after a long break, and even better to see that the Longbridge plant is playing a pivotal role in delivering the new cars to UK MG enthusiasts. After all, the area has one of the longest automotive histories of any in the world – up there with Detroit and Aichi.
All that remains to be seen is exactly how much of the MG ‘soul’ the new car will possess.
Breakdown Cover from 
