NANJING, China, March 13 (UPI) -- Britain's MG sports cars, halted in bankruptcy in 2005, will soon be built again by China's Nanjing Automobile Group, the Chinese automaker says.
China's oldest automaker -- which bought the assets of MG's final British owner, MG Rover Group -- plans to build the cars in China, Britain and the United States, the company says.
Nanjing Automobile signed a 33-year lease on part of MG's old factory in Longbridge, England, and will begin making two-seat, two-door convertible MGTF sports cars there this year for sale in Britain and continental Europe, the company says.
Negotiations are also under way to produce a hardtop MGTF roadster in Oklahoma, The International Herald Tribune reports. U.S.-built MGs could be available domestically by mid-2008, the company says.
A plant in the Chinese city of Nanjing will start making MGTFs and five-seat, four-door MG7 sedans March 27.
All cars will keep their British look and feel, Nanjing Britain Chairman Wang Hongbiao says.
"Emotion is the most important factor in purchasing cars," he said. "That's why we feel the brand is so important and why we want to protect the British flavor of the brand."
