After the collapse and sale of MG Rover, we thought we would never see new MGs here again. So it is good news that we will be seeing the brand in showrooms in the next month or so, as the MGB celebrates its 50th birthday.
Our MGs will be sourced from China for reasons of cost and transportation, and the importer, British Motor Distributors, is expecting delivery through the Port of Auckland this weekend of examples of its MG6 GT, while the upcoming MG5 and MG3 should appear later in the year, although in each case there is a wait for automatic transmissions.
The MG6 GT is here for evaluation by dealers and potential dealers as well as journalists.
The specific dealer lineup has not yet been finalised, says Kerry Cheyne, operations manager at British Motor Distributors, but there will be a lineup of at least three model ranges when things start to move for MG in New Zealand.
The MG6/Magnette model is a C/D-sized car and was the first all- new MG to appear since the Rover Group's sale of the MG and Rover brands to the Nanjing Automobile Group in 2005. The Nanjing Automobile Group was taken over by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation in 2007.
The MG6 GT is a five-door hatchback, launched in Britain in the middle of last year. Ours will have 118kW turbocharged TCI- Tech 1.8-litre engines, and a turbo diesel version is due by the end of the year. Again, this is auto transmission dependent.
Likely to be the volume seller of the new MG range is the MG5, which has been seen only as a show car so far. Sized in the Focus/Corolla area, the car uses the 1.5-litre VVT engine from the Roewe 350, on which the car is based, with 80kW of power and 135Nm of torque in naturally aspirated form. A turbocharged version of the engine is also expected.
A dual clutch gearbox designed with General Motors will also reach the MG5 and this may even pervade the whole lineup before too long. The unit will be launched in the new Roewe 550 in April at the Beijing Motor Show, where the final signed-off MG5 will also appear.
The MG5, coded AP12, is just one of a series of cars based on the Roewe 350 AP platform. The AP13 light SUV and AP14 station wagon will appear soon too.
Previewed as the MG Zero concept at last year's Beijing car show, the MG3 is a Polo and Fabia-sized five-door hatch and in its Chinese home market it will have a choice of 1.3-litre and 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engines. For New Zealand, we can expect the 1.5-litre.
There is also speculation of a front-engined rear-drive small sports car to replace the mid- engined MGF/TF model.
The company has always said that it has wanted to create a new MGB for the 21st century and that car's 50th birthday this year represents perfect timing for a concept car.
It is expected that SAIC's joint- venture relationship with General Motors will lead to a new MG7 flagship model, based on the on the Opel Insignia Epsilon II platform.
We will keep you posted on MG range's details, specifications and prices as they come to hand.