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MG TF delayed (again)
By Yoann Besnard on 13 November 2007 | (0) Comments | Permalink
A spokesman for Nanjing has announced that the production of the long-awaited TF roadster is likely to be delayed until the first quarter of next year. By the time the roadster goes on sale, it might be too old to compete with the ubiquitous Mazda MX5.
The new delay would be due to the new merger between NAC and SAIC dictated by the Chinese government. In the muddled Rover collapse, both Chinese carmakers bought a part of the British company. Since then, they have been fighting each other to be the first to relaunch the Rover cars on the Chinese market. SAIC kicked off the battle by unveiling the Rover 75, newly labeled Roewe 750, while NAC presented the same Rover 75, naming it MG7. In the face of such silliness, Chinese bureaucrats banged their fists on the table and initiated the merger.
Despite the new delay, the spokesman also declared that there has been considerable interest in MG products from car dealers. NAC has so far received 100 inquiries and forty have already agreed to sell future products. By the end of 2008, NAC is expecting to have a network of 70-80 dealers. They will have to be very forward thinking to sell the first crop of MG TF. The car will initially be sold first as a limited edition, high spec LE 500 for £15,000. It will be quite a challenge to sell a 13 year old car at this price when Mazda sells the MX5 for £15,730.
