MG History
•
MG Cars got its name from Morris Garages, which
began producing its own customised versions to the
designs of Cecil Kimber who had joined the company
as its Sales Manager in 1921 and was promoted to
General Manager in 1922.
•
There is some question as to when MG began. Some
state it to be 1924, although the first cars bore both
Morris and MG badges and a reference to MG with
the octagon badge appeared in an Oxford newspaper
in November 1923. Others believe that MG only
properly began trading in 1925.
•
The first cars, which were rebodied Morris models,
used coachwork from Carbodies of Coventry and
were built in Alfred Lane, Oxford.
•
In 1928 the company had become large enough to
separate from the original Morris Garages and the
MG Car Company Limited was established.
•
Space again ran out and a new home was
established in part of an old leather factory in
Abingdon, Oxfordshire in 1929, gradually taking over
more space until production ended there in 1980.
•
MG was absorbed into the British Motor Corporation.
BMC merged with Jaguar Cars in 1966 to form British
Motor Holdings, which in turn merged with the
Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968 to form the British
Leyland Motor Corporation.
•
Following partial nationalisation in 1975 BLMC
became British Leyland. The Abingdon factory was
shut down as part of the programme of cutbacks
necessary to turn BL around after the difficult times of
the 1970s. Though many plants were closed, none
created such an uproar among workers, dealers,
clubs and customers as this closure did.
•
After BL became the Rover Group in 1986, ownership
of the MG marque passed to British Aerospace in
1988 and then in 1994 to BMW. BMW sold the
business in 2000 and the MG marque passed to the
MG Rover Group based in Longbridge, Birmingham.
The Group went into receivership in 2005 and car
production was suspended on 7 April 2005.
•
In July 2005, the Nanjing Automobile Group
purchased the rights to the MG brand and the assets
of the MG Rover Group for £53 million creating a new
company NAC MG UK Limited. Nanjing restarted
production of the MG TF and ZT ranges in early
2007. The TF and the ZT (renamed the MG 7) are
assembled in Pukou, Jiangsu Province in China. The
MG 3, a rebadged Rover Streetwise, also entered
production at Pukou.
•
In 2006 Nanjing announced the development of a TF
sports coupé.
•
In 2007, merged with Shanghai Automotive Industry
Corporation.
•
The MG range was relaunched in the United
Kingdom during 2008,
with an updated
limited edition of the
TF built at Longbridge
by NAC MG UK,
called the TF LE500.
Production of the TF
at Longbridge was
suspended again in
October 2009.
•
In January 2009, NAC
MG UK was renamed
MG Motor UK Limited.
•
The MG 6 hatchback
variant of the Roewe
550 was announced in
April 2009. It is
expected that this
model will be
assembled both in
China, starting in
2010, and at
Longbridge, in 2011.
Car models
•
The earliest model,
the 1924 MG 14/28
consisted of a new
sporting body on a
Morris Oxford chassis.
The first car which can
be described as a new
MG, rather than a
modified Morris was
the MG 18/80 of 1928
which had a purpose
designed chassis and
the first appearance of
the traditional vertical
MG grille. A smaller
car was launched in
1929 with the first of a
long line of Midgets
starting with the M-
Type based on a 1928
Morris Minor chassis.
Beginning before and
continuing after World
War II, MG produced
a line of cars known
as the T-Series
Midgets. These
included the MG TC,
MG TD, and MG TF,
all of which were
based on the pre-war
MG TB.
•
MG departed from its
earlier line of Y-Type
saloons and pre-war
designs and released
the MGA in 1955.
•
The MGB was
released in 1962 to
satisfy demand for a
more modern and
comfortable sports car
and continued in
production until 1980.
•
In 1965 this was
followed by the MGB
GT.
•
Between 1967 and
1969 a short-lived
model called the MGC
was released. The
MGC was based on
the MGB body, but
with a larger six-
cylinder engine.
•
MG began producing
the MG Midget in
1961. The Midget was
a re-badged and
slightly restyled
second-generation
Austin-Healey Sprite.
•
The 1974 MGB was
the last model made
with chrome bumpers
due to new United
States safety
regulations and now
had thick black rubber
bumpers.
•
As with the MGB, the
Midget design was
frequently modified
until 1980 when the
last of the range was
made.
•
The MG badge lived
on after 1980 under
BL, being used on a
number of Austin
saloons including the
Metro, Maestro, and
Montego.
•
The Rover Group
revived the two-seater
with the MG RV8 in
1992.
•
The all-new MGF
went on sale in 1995,
becoming the first
mass-produced "real"
MG sports car since
the MGB ceased
production in 1980.
•
The MG range was
expanded in the
summer of 2001 with
the introduction of
three Rover-based
sports models. The
MG ZR was based on
the Rover 25, the MG
ZS on the Rover 45,
and the MG ZT/ZT-T
on the Rover 75.
•
In 2011 MG launched
the MG6 and MG6
Magnette.
•
In 2013 MG launched
the MG3
•
Concept cars include
the MG5 and the Icon
•
The current MG line-
up consists of the
2016 launched GS,
which was MG’s first
Sports Utility Vehicle,
and the larger ZS
SUV range introduced
in 2017 originally
badged as the XS. A
new MG3 super mini
arrived on the scene
in 2018 and with
electric cars very
much in the news, we
now have the MG ZS
EV SUV and MG4 EV.
•
MG Cyberster, all-new
electric sports car with
revolutionary design,
combining the iconic
roadster heritage with
modern brand design
language. Poised to
open a compelling
new chapter in the
MG story, expected on
sale in Europe in
2024.
MG ZS EV
MG4 EV