MG Makers Set Sights on Establishing Manufacturing
Post# of 960
SAIC Motor, the Chinese company that owns the MG Car brand, has announced that it plans to set up a vehicle manufacturing facility in Europe. This was after its sales on the continent surged. This new facility will produce EVs only. However, the Chinese-owned company revealed that the company hadn’t yet made a decision about whether their MG vehicles would also be produced at this new production facility.
MG cars, a brand that dates back more than a century, were initially produced within the United Kingdom until operations shifted in 2016 to China.
Last week, the company’s spokesperson intimated to the BBC that SAIC was still engaged in looking around for a desirable location for its production facility as well as working out the other needed details pertinent to the site or what will be done there. The spokesperson then stated that the company has several brands, including MG, Maxus and IM, and it would decide which of those would be produced at this planned plant.
According to the company, its sales abroad jumped by 40% in Q1 of 2023. MGs brought in the bulk of those international sales, and sales in Europe alone grew by more than 100% within that quarter.
The announcement of plans to establish a factory in Europe comes nearly seven years after SAIC halted MG assembly in Birmingham, UK. At the time, the company said it was no longer necessary to retain the plant since its vehicles could be imported into the country. The plant in Birmingham had operated since 1906 and weathered both world wars, economic downturns and other challenges while churning out the iconic original Mini as well as MG cars.
Chinese vehicle makers, including Geely, SAIC and Great Wall, have registered remarkable progress in international sales. Chinese auto exports got a shot in the arm after the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia created a gap that Chinese manufacturers took advantage of. Consequently, Chinese auto exports exceeded a million units in Q1 2023, toppling Japan as the global leader in car exports.
SAIC has production facilities in Thailand, China, Pakistan, India and Indonesia. Last year, the company sold a total of 5.3 million units around the world. The European market was responsible for a big share of those sales, accounting for 100,000 units. The company is looking to leverage this headway by setting up a production facility within the region.
Needless to say, other automakers such as Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are also eyeing the same lucrative markets, so competition is likely to get even hotter with the emerging Chinese manufacturers.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MULN
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the Green Car Stocks website applicable to all content provided by GCS, wherever published or re-published: https://www.GreenCarStocks.com/Disclaimer