Arnaud : Aujourd’hui a été une grande journée pour MG avec la réouverture officielle de l’usine de Longbridge. C’est un pas important pour le retour de la marque MG en Europe. Pour célébrer cet événement, nous avons l’opportunité d’interviewer directement Paul Stowe, qui travaille directement chez la Nanjing Automotive Corporation (NAC), le nouveau propriétaire de la marque octogonale.
Paul, tout d’abord pourriez-vous vous présenter pour celles et ceux qui ne vous connaissent pas ?
Paul : Mon nom est Paul Stowe, je suis le directeur de la qualité pour « Nanjing MG Automobile Company », et je suis localisé au siège de la compagnie à Nanjing, Chine.
Arnaud : Aujourd’hui nous avons vu des voitures de préproduction sortir de l’usine de Longbridge. Il y a eu beaucoup de spéculation sur quels modèles y seraient assemblés. Les MG7, MG3 et autres voitures seront-elles assemblées à Longbridge également ?
Paul : Le discours du président de la NAC a été très clair sur ce sujet : si nous observons une réponse positive du marché à la relance de la marque MG en Europe, et pour les véhicules construits à Longbridge, alors nous ALLONS introduire de nouveaux produits à Longbridge. L’usine a une capacité pour peindre plus de 130 000 voitures par an, et une capacité d’assemblage de 80 000 unités par an – nous sommes très enclin à utiliser cette capacité dès que possible.
Arnaud : A ma connaissance c’est la première fois que NAC entre sur le marché Européen, NAC qui cela dit en passant est le plus ancien constructeur automobile Chinois. Pénétrer le marché au travers d’un marché de niche comme celui de la TF paraît curieux. Y a t-il des raisons pour lesquelles la MG 7 ne pouvait pas être offerte avant la TF sur le marché Européen ?
Paul : Comme vous l’avez dit, la MG TF est un produit de niche et ainsi peut être vendu par des distributeurs spécialisés. La MG 7 est un produit de masse et demande une stratégie de vente très différente, incluant un réseau plus complexe de distribution et de services. Nous avons à construire notre réseau de distribution et de service en Europe à partir de zéro. Nous avons choisi de faire cela à partir de la MG TF en nombre limité, pour s‘assurer que nous pourrons fournir le meilleur service possible aux clients. Avec le développement et la croissance du réseau suivra le développement des produits.
Arnaud : A quand les premières TF vendues en Europe continentale, en en particulier en France ?
Paul : On peut s’attendre à voir les premières TF vendues en Europe durant le second semestre 2008.
Arnaud : La “nouvelle TF” qui a été présentée aujourd’hui arborait une nouvelle face avant. Les premiers commentaires sur notre forum à propos de cette nouvelle face sont assez positifs. La version finale de la voiture qui sera introduite en Europe gardera t’elle ce nouveau avant et il y a t-il des changements par rapport à la TF de 2005 dont vous pourriez déjà nous parler ?
Paul : Je ne peux pas commenter sur des changements spécifiques au véhicule, cependant nous pensons que la voiture entrant sur le marché Européen aura des améliorations significatives tant sur le plan du style que sur le plan technique, par rapport aux précédentes MG TF construites par MG Rover. Vous avez pu remarquer un aperçu de certain de ces changements durant la cérémonie d’inauguration de Longbridge, mais les changements sont plus que cosmétiques, nous avons examiné la mécanique de chaque partie/pièce du véhicule, et nous pensons que la nouvelle MG TF sera construite sur des standards plus élevés que les incarnations précédentes.
Arnaud : garderez-vous la dénomination “TF” pour le roadster ?
Paul : oui
Arnaud : Il y aura-t-il une version Coupé de la TF pour l’Europe et si oui quand ?
Paul : Comme Mr Yu l’a confirmé, le Coupe fait réellement partie de nos futurs plans. Quand reste encore à être confirmé , mais je peux confirmer que ce sera plus tôt que tard !
Arnaud : Quelles motorisations seront disponibles pour la TF sur le marché Européen ?
Paul : Nous nous concentrons actuellement sur le moteur série 1.8 N, de 135cv. C’est une version bien améliorée du moteur original, et dispose d’une fiabilité elle aussi bien améliorée, le tout conforme aux normes EU4.
Arnaud : Avec les nouvelles limitations concernant les émissions de CO2, ces moteurs se sont-ils pas déjà dépassés ? Les concurrents investissent énormément pour produire des nouveaux moteurs high tech polluant moins. Est-ce que NAC fera des partenariats avec d’autres constructeurs comme Toyota afin d’offrir des moteurs plus modernes sur les MGs ?
Paul : Dans le cadre de notre plan produit, nous avons un programme motorisation très développé, qui inclue divers développements afin d’assurer que nous sommes compétitifs sur tous les marchés. Nous avons réalisé d’important investissements dans ce projet, pas seulement pour les 2 prochaines années – mais pour le long terme, c’est pourquoi nous comptons développer des véhicules et des moteurs qui permettront d’asseoir NAC MG sur le long terme. Nous travaillons avec plusieurs partenaires pour nous aider à développer les futures motorisations afin de répondre aux toutes dernières réglementations sur tous les marchés.
Arnaud : Comme vous le savez beaucoup se posent des questions sur la qualité des voitures fabriquées en Chine. Beaucoup déjà dans le passé ont choisi de ne pas acheter de MG TF à cause de la fameuse rupture du joint de culasse que pas mal de propriétaires ont connu. Pouvez-vous nous réassurer sur ce sujet et nous parler de changements technique sur les moteurs de série K et le système de refroidissement ?
Paul : Comme je l’ai déjà mentionné la motorisation sur cette MG TF révisée est plus fiable, en fait nous avons couvert plus de 1 million de km de tests sous tous les climats, sur tous les terrains et dans tous les scénarios de conduite. Les principaux changements incluent un tout nouveau joint de culasse, incorporant un joint métallique multi couche en remplacement du joint original en plastique, un « ladder frame » réenforcé (Arnaud : je ne suis pas sûr de la traduction de ladder frame),et l’installation d’un système de thermostat pour libérer la pression.
Arnaud : Quel pourcentrage de la production des MG TF sera pour le marché Chinois ? Y a-t-il vraiment un marché du cabriolet en Chine si on considère des facteurs comme la pollution en zone urbaine, le sable et la poussière dans certaines régions, et l’infrastructure routière médiocre en dehors des zones urbaines ?
Paul : Nous avons une seconde ligne de production basée à Nanjing pour la production de MGTF, et une importante proportion des véhicules qui y seront produits seront vendus en Chine. Vous avez assez raison sur le fait qu’il n’y a qu’un petit marché pour les cabriolets en Chine, seulement c’est une économie en croissance avec une société plus riche – les consommateurs implorent de trouver quelque chose d’un peu différent que la norme. Nous espérons répondre à cette demande, et peut-être même créer une demande ! Je conduit une MG TF dans les rues de Nanjing depuis quelques semaines et les réactions sont formidables – il m’a même été offert des sommes d’argent importantes pour avoir la voiture, « but desperate would-be owners on more than one occasion! » (Arnaud : pas sûr de la traduction exacte).
Arnaud : Au delà de la MG TF qu’est-il prévu pour les MG 7, MG 5, MG 3 et les futures autres modèles MG pour le marché Européen ?
Paul : Nous discutons actuellement avec divers importateurs d’Europe continentale des produits que nous croyons pouvoir vendre en Europe, ceci avec notre plan produit nous aidera à développer nos véhicules et notre stratégie de vente pour l’Europe. Ces marchés sont clés pour NAC MG, ils sont au centre de notre développement produit, des ventes et bien sûr de nos objectifs qualitatifs. Nous avons un plan d’export très établi pour MG, et vendre des voitures en Europe continentale et un de nos objectifs clés.
Arnaud : Est-ce que NAC MG a déjà contacté des distributeurs en France, Belgique et autres pays d’Europe continentale ?
Paul : Cela a été un processus de communication en 2 sens, nous avons parlé à plusieurs parties intéressées et les discussions progressent très bien. Plusieurs des parties intéressées nous ont rejoins à l’inauguration à Nanjing, ainsi qu’à Longbridge plus récemment.
Arnaud : Est-ce que les pièces spécifiques aux anciennes MG F/TF seront disponibles directement via NAC ? est-ce que NAC recommencera la production de ces pièces ?
Paul : Nous avons travaillé étroitement avec X-Part pour s’assurer que nous pouvons fournir des pieces pour les modèles précédemment produits, ce qui inclue la MG F et la MG TF, en fait nous avons fourni des panneaux de carrosserie depuis plus d’un an, et continuellement nous étendons notre gamme de service pièces détachées selon les demandes du client.
Arnaud : Les personnes de moins de 30-40 ans en France souvent ne connaissent pas la marquee MG, et ceux connaissent ont tendance à penser que c’est sympa mais pas fiable. Est-ce qu’une communication spécifique pour les autres pays a-t-elle déjà été élaborée ? est-ce que vous prévoyez de l’évènementiel pour la France, la Belgique, etc… ?
Paul : Quand viendra le temps nous travaillerons avec nos importateurs sur un marketing spécifique pour chaque pays. Nous connaissons la marque, et nos importateurs connaissent leur marché ! Nous travaillerons étroitement ensemble pour s’assurer que chaque marché aura la communication la plus efficace.
Arnaud : A propos du positionnement tarifaire, les fans ont peur qu’avoir un label « bas coût » serait dommageable pour la marque MG. Nous voyons MG comme des voitures de sport « abordables » plutôt que « bas coût » qui sonne comme « mauvaise qualité/voitures inférieures ». Que pouvez-vous nous dire sur le positionnement tarifaire et comment prévoyez-vous de communiquer sur le positionnement produit/prix ?
Paul : Bien que je ne sois pas en mesure de communiquer de manière spécifique sur le prix, je suis profondément d’accord avec votre opinion. Trop bon marché et vous diminuez la marque, trop cher et vous n’êtes pas compétitif. Nous vendrons les voitures à un prix où les consommateurs en auront pour leur argent, tout en assurant que le positionnement de la marque et le résiduel des voitures restent protégés.
Arnaud : Qui a trouvé le slogan “A New Journey” et quel message/image vous souhaitez véhiculer avec ce slogan ?
Paul : Le thème « A New Journey » vient d’une collaboration entre les départements ventes et marketing de NAC/MG et les agences de marketing et de relation publique. Cela vient de l’héritage de cette marque Britannique icône et recommence avec le processus d’assemblage des véhicules sur le site historique de l’Automobile Britannique – Longbridge.
Arnaud : Nous avons vu beaucoup de scepticisme sur le retour de la marque MG et le redémarrage de l’usine de Longbridge. Mais aujourd’hui nous avons pu voir l’inauguration de l’usine de Longbridge même si beaucoup reste à faire. Que diriez-vous à des investisseurs pour leur faire croire en vos objectifs ? Est-ce que NAC a sécurisé assez de fonds pour permettre le développement de la marque MG à l’étranger et considérez-vous établir des partenariats avec d’autres constructeurs, en particulier SAIC ?
Paul : NAC a investi énormément d’argent pour le futur à long terme de MG, à la fois en Chine et à Longbridge. Nous avons le support total de nos investisseurs, incluant les locaux, provinciaux et le gouvernement national. Le développement de la marque à l’étranger est fondamental pour nos investissements et nos futurs objectifs. Bien que le marché Chinois est clé pour notre expansion et notre croissance, l’export et la production en Europe est tout aussi important pour le futur de MG. Quant aux partenariats, NAC MG a créé des partenariats mutuellement bénéfiques depuis le début il y a 2 ans. Nous avons travaillé tout durant avec un nombre de compagnies très respectées sur tous les aspects du design de la voiture, du développement et de la production, et nous continuerons à le faire, pour s’assurer que nous protégeons les intérêts de nos investisseurs, et pour fournir les meilleurs véhicules possibles à nos clients.
Arnaud : A propos de vous Paul, vous avez créé un Blog ce qui est une sympathique initiative. Auriez-vous créé un outil de communication comme celui-ci si vous étiez impliqué dans une autre marque plus généraliste (comme Renault, Rover ou Ford) ?
Paul : Il se trouve juste que je travaille pour MG, vit en Chine et adore écrire sur mes expériences. NAC MG est une compagnie très ouverte, et raisonnablement me donne de la liberté. Cependant NAC MG n’est pas affilié avec mon blog, y sont présents mes idées qui ne représentent pas forcément les idées de la compagnie dans laquelle je travaille. Je pense que si j’avais travaillé pour une autre compagnie j’aurais quand même écrit un blog – mais peut-être je n’aurais pas eu une réaction aussi fantastique !
Arnaud : Est-ce que NAC s'inspire de la manière dont BMW gère la marque Mini ? (et la question associée qui tue : Il y aura t-il une prise pour iPod dans la TF ? )
Paul : ha ha personnellement j’adore la manière dont BMW a mis en valeur/ « marketé » la Mini, tout du showroom jusqu’aux brochures est vraiment « slick » (Arnaud : pas de traduction exacte, en gros « cohérent ») et individuel. Je pense que nous essayons de vendre une proposition d’achat similaire, cependant je pense que notre approche marketing et « branding » sera un peu différente – comme la Mini nous avons une image de marque très distincte, cela a besoin d’être exploré et plus exploité. L’intégration de technologies moderne dans nos autos est un facteur clé de développement que nous explorons avant le lancement commercial de la nouvelle MG TF, donc oui je suis sûr que nos voitures seront prêtes pour recevoir des iPod !
This is the transcript of an interview I did with Arnaud, from MG Contact, the leading French speaking MG Enthusiasts Forum. http://www.mgcontact.eu/
(Dont worry there is an English version of the interview available at http://www2.mgcontact.eu/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6380)
I just thought it would be nice to post a BLOG in a differant Language!
Friday, 8 June 2007
Sunday, 3 June 2007
29th May 2007 – The alternatives!
Firstly I have to say that my previous BLOG was by no means an attack at the entire British Media, over the last couple of years I have made some good contacts, and even some good friends from people involved in the media. I have found some of them honest, honorable and even down-to-earth individuals with family’s, feelings and yes even a willingness to listen and learn! However there are those who are lazy, those who just regurgitate, reassemble and re-type other people’s correspondence. They scan the Internet, view the BLOGS and discussion forums, read yesterdays newspapers and even talk to the ‘man down the pub’. Then following a predetermined script set out to make the story fit their point of view – regardless of the facts. This is journalism at its worst.
I have come in for some backlash following my previous BLOG, I would like to apologize to those real journalists who spent time investigating the story, and delivered a true picture of the events. My issue was never with the story reported – yes we should have released prices, it would have been great to announce X number of dealers, and we desperately want to succeed, and employ 1000’s of ex-MG-Rover personnel – negativity around these issues, is accepted. However I still believe this should have been balanced with the excitement and fantastic news that Longbridge wasn’t dead – despite the thousands of nails firmly hammered into the coffin by many a journalist in the past. I just wanted to offer a couple of alternatives to how a story could have been told if NAC hadn’t brought MG, and finally a version of a report written by a NAC employee!
Scenario 1. Alternative Chinese Manufacturer's Purchase of MG-Rover
May 29th 2007 - The story begins over two years ago as a Chinese company that were once heralded as savior’s by the MG-Rover’s owners, stood aside and watched the company fall into administration, then as the vultures circled above they stepped in and purchased the company for a fraction of what it would have cost as a going concern. This launched their plans and they systematically stripped the Longbridge site of every nut, bolt, washer and light bulb, all packed away and transported to a factory somewhere in middle China. This incredibly secretive company who failed to purchase the Rover brand from BMW last year, have relocated the equipment and are now producing their version of the familiar Rover 75 for Chinese consumption branded as MG 750. We also saw a glimpse of a new vehicles at this years Shanghai Auto Show, a medium car badged as the MG 350, which could be on sale here in the UK early next year.
The company rejected offers to continue production at Longbridge, despite pleas by the unions and local politicians, and today a group of journalists and St Modwin executives gathered at what would have been the old Q’Gate to witness the opening of an enormous housing and retail park on the former heart of British Automotive Industry.
This alternative Chinese Manufacturer handed the keys over to St Modwen some 18 months ago, after taking what they owned, the following day the bulldozers moved in. Demolishing the massive site, flattening it to the ground, then like a phoenix the entire site has been transformed into the largest office, housing, and retail park in the south of the city. As far as the eye could see, bland, grey warehouses and shops have been erected on a place that not only provided jobs for thousands of people, but also provided hopes, dreams and a sense of pride in a whole community. This has been replaced by more branch’s of Comet, NEXT, Tesco’s and WH Smiths.
The original factory was testament, not just to car production, but during both World wars provided munitions and even airplanes to the British Forces fighting oppression by would be invaders. Over 100 years of blood, sweat and tears fell at the factory, famous for building, the Maxi, the infamous Allegro and of course the Mini – to name but a few of the hundreds of vehicle brands manufactured on the site. Employing hundreds of thousands over they years, training tens of thousands and providing a sense of belonging for millions. Also watching this final nail in Longbridges coffin were some ex-employee’s – tears welled in their eye’s as the ribbon was cut by a beaming councilor, he explained that the new development was a sign of progress and we shouldn’t look to the past but look forward to the future. For those who watched, the new shops and houses provided no future, no sense of belonging and almost certainly no employment. As one former employee said to me “A vast part of British heritage has been replaced by a thousand 3 Bed Semi’s that no one around here can afford – if that’s progress, I will stay in the past!”
Scenario No. 2 – British Investment Group Buy MG-Rover
May 29th 2007 - Just 2 years after a British consortium of businessmen purchased the old MG-Rover assets from the administrators, dozens of journalists gathered once more at the gates to witness the chains go on, and bring an end to another chapter in long Longbridges chequered history.
Like the Pheonix 4 before them, they promised to sustain production and employment in Longbridge well into the thousands for years to come. Unfortunately they underestimated the amount of money that was required to not only develop new vehicles, but also to pay the 2000 workers they hired 6 months after purchasing the company. There initial investment represented only 10% of what would be needed to develop a fresh range of vehicle’s, demanded by the press and the public. The wage bill ran into millions, especially when considering the senior executives bonus’s, and a failure to find a suitable partner to help share the burden of development costs so desperately needed, left the company struggling from day one.
It was a story all too familiar to many of us who reported the same scenario only a few years earlier when John Towers was hailed as the savior of MG-Rover, they (PVH) managed to keep the company afloat for 4 years, and made themselves extremely rich in the process. No one knows if the latest band of executives have made similar individual profits – we are sure that will be unearthed under the usual parliamentary investigation that seems to provide a more profitable revenue source, than actually building vehicles these days. What is true is, as before this is a devastating blow to the thousands of employee’s, their families and the suppliers who supported this latest resurrection attempt.
We were all surprised 2 years ago when the administrators accepted the offer from this latest group of investors. There had reportedly been higher offers from several Chinese companies’ who wanted the brands and the equipment to fuel the growing car market in the East. But in an attempt to keep local jobs the administrators were praised when they allowed them to re-open the gates only 6 months after the former collapse. Despite the halving of the workforce, they were hailed as heroes. The public were skeptical and the suppliers reluctant to open supply lines again, add together the lack of a partner and sufficient funds this always looked like an attempt to support various peoples political careers and bank accounts, rather than a serious attempt at reviving a once great British Icon.
So as we stand here yet again, with 2000+ employee’s facing an uncertain future, thousand’s more suppliers are left owed millions, and thousands of owners left without warranty’s on vehicles with rapidly dropping values. We wonder if anybody else would be around to try again? They Chinese have gone, and there doesn’t seem to be any rush for anyone else to take control – perhaps this really is the end of Longbridge
Scenario No.3 – Nanjing Automotive Buy MG.
29th May 2007 - Following the sale of MG-Rover’s assets to Nanjing Automotive Corporation nearly 2 years ago, the world’s media met to celebrate the reopening of Longnbridge.
We were all skeptical and surprised when NAC outbid various rivals to gain control of the company back in 2005, they were open about there plans to center production around a new plant being built in China, however surprisingly they also committed to keep Longbridge at the heart of their European strategy. Surprising because Longbridge had become the bye word for failure and inefficiency over the years. Strangled by a lack of investment and used as a cash cow for its previous owners, some observers had wished that the site and the marques had disappeared once and for all – maybe one reason why British political and financial support was less than forthcoming for the new owners.
Everyone expected the ‘Lift & Shift’ operation to have singled the end of over 100 years of production at Longbridge, and see the gates locked for the final time. Not so, the Chinese met there commitment and re-started production, albeit employing small numbers of former workers, and launching the same vehicle that the previous owners had touted for several year previously. They told us that this was just the beginning and that greater employment, and future models would arrive in the years to follow, can we believe them? Is this just a false dawn? What makes them think they can succeed where everyone else had failed?
Well one big factor in this is that they don’t have to solely depend on sales in Europe for success, everyone before them centered production and sales on the market in the UK and mainland Europe. NAC have centered their plans on Asia’s growing economy and fast paced automotive industry. Having built one of the largest and most technically advanced production facility’s in China, they hope to sell almost ½ million vehicles a year in the near future, investing in not only 1, but 2 facility’s before even taking a single deposit on a single vehicle! Money gained from this will be ploughed into new products, innovations and facility’s – not only in China, but also in the UK.
The UK is central to their plan, why? Because to be saleable in China you need a foreign brand, and experienced engineers to help develop future products, add to this the factor that many European consumers aren’t ready for Chinese imports. A UK facility makes far more sense than some would believe. Longbridge provides a real link to the origins of the brand, a focal point for enrolling British engineers and a production base in the heart of Europe.
One of the most important reasons that could be ignored but maybe the most influential in the decision to retain Longbridge is pure politics. Nanjing and the Jiangsu Government can now declare to be the first, and the only Chinese Automotive Company to wholly own a production facility in the West. The kudos this carries in China is enormous, and helps provide regional and national political and more importantly financial support.
The future remains unclear, however we can only stand back and admire NAC for taking a positive approach to manufacturing in the UK, while everyone else is transferring there facility’s to mainland Europe or the Far East, they are reversing the trend and recognizing that business isn’t just about profit and dollars, but is also about people, heritage and having a long term view.
Given the three circumstances the choice in my eyes would be very clear, maybe I have been rather negative on scenarios 1 & 2, but I guess history and hindsight play there part in my writing, I was also party to all three propositions during that period that required the administrators to choose a purchaser, whilst I didn’t have any influence in the decision – I am glad that NAC won out in the end, at least they have proved to be honest and loyal to the brand and Longbridge.
These are my final words on this issue, I like many others hope that NAC prove the doom Sayers wrong, and we live to see Longbridge continue to grow, develop new products and continue to be at the center of NAC’s European operations.
I have come in for some backlash following my previous BLOG, I would like to apologize to those real journalists who spent time investigating the story, and delivered a true picture of the events. My issue was never with the story reported – yes we should have released prices, it would have been great to announce X number of dealers, and we desperately want to succeed, and employ 1000’s of ex-MG-Rover personnel – negativity around these issues, is accepted. However I still believe this should have been balanced with the excitement and fantastic news that Longbridge wasn’t dead – despite the thousands of nails firmly hammered into the coffin by many a journalist in the past. I just wanted to offer a couple of alternatives to how a story could have been told if NAC hadn’t brought MG, and finally a version of a report written by a NAC employee!
Scenario 1. Alternative Chinese Manufacturer's Purchase of MG-Rover
May 29th 2007 - The story begins over two years ago as a Chinese company that were once heralded as savior’s by the MG-Rover’s owners, stood aside and watched the company fall into administration, then as the vultures circled above they stepped in and purchased the company for a fraction of what it would have cost as a going concern. This launched their plans and they systematically stripped the Longbridge site of every nut, bolt, washer and light bulb, all packed away and transported to a factory somewhere in middle China. This incredibly secretive company who failed to purchase the Rover brand from BMW last year, have relocated the equipment and are now producing their version of the familiar Rover 75 for Chinese consumption branded as MG 750. We also saw a glimpse of a new vehicles at this years Shanghai Auto Show, a medium car badged as the MG 350, which could be on sale here in the UK early next year.
The company rejected offers to continue production at Longbridge, despite pleas by the unions and local politicians, and today a group of journalists and St Modwin executives gathered at what would have been the old Q’Gate to witness the opening of an enormous housing and retail park on the former heart of British Automotive Industry.
This alternative Chinese Manufacturer handed the keys over to St Modwen some 18 months ago, after taking what they owned, the following day the bulldozers moved in. Demolishing the massive site, flattening it to the ground, then like a phoenix the entire site has been transformed into the largest office, housing, and retail park in the south of the city. As far as the eye could see, bland, grey warehouses and shops have been erected on a place that not only provided jobs for thousands of people, but also provided hopes, dreams and a sense of pride in a whole community. This has been replaced by more branch’s of Comet, NEXT, Tesco’s and WH Smiths.
The original factory was testament, not just to car production, but during both World wars provided munitions and even airplanes to the British Forces fighting oppression by would be invaders. Over 100 years of blood, sweat and tears fell at the factory, famous for building, the Maxi, the infamous Allegro and of course the Mini – to name but a few of the hundreds of vehicle brands manufactured on the site. Employing hundreds of thousands over they years, training tens of thousands and providing a sense of belonging for millions. Also watching this final nail in Longbridges coffin were some ex-employee’s – tears welled in their eye’s as the ribbon was cut by a beaming councilor, he explained that the new development was a sign of progress and we shouldn’t look to the past but look forward to the future. For those who watched, the new shops and houses provided no future, no sense of belonging and almost certainly no employment. As one former employee said to me “A vast part of British heritage has been replaced by a thousand 3 Bed Semi’s that no one around here can afford – if that’s progress, I will stay in the past!”
Scenario No. 2 – British Investment Group Buy MG-Rover
May 29th 2007 - Just 2 years after a British consortium of businessmen purchased the old MG-Rover assets from the administrators, dozens of journalists gathered once more at the gates to witness the chains go on, and bring an end to another chapter in long Longbridges chequered history.
Like the Pheonix 4 before them, they promised to sustain production and employment in Longbridge well into the thousands for years to come. Unfortunately they underestimated the amount of money that was required to not only develop new vehicles, but also to pay the 2000 workers they hired 6 months after purchasing the company. There initial investment represented only 10% of what would be needed to develop a fresh range of vehicle’s, demanded by the press and the public. The wage bill ran into millions, especially when considering the senior executives bonus’s, and a failure to find a suitable partner to help share the burden of development costs so desperately needed, left the company struggling from day one.
It was a story all too familiar to many of us who reported the same scenario only a few years earlier when John Towers was hailed as the savior of MG-Rover, they (PVH) managed to keep the company afloat for 4 years, and made themselves extremely rich in the process. No one knows if the latest band of executives have made similar individual profits – we are sure that will be unearthed under the usual parliamentary investigation that seems to provide a more profitable revenue source, than actually building vehicles these days. What is true is, as before this is a devastating blow to the thousands of employee’s, their families and the suppliers who supported this latest resurrection attempt.
We were all surprised 2 years ago when the administrators accepted the offer from this latest group of investors. There had reportedly been higher offers from several Chinese companies’ who wanted the brands and the equipment to fuel the growing car market in the East. But in an attempt to keep local jobs the administrators were praised when they allowed them to re-open the gates only 6 months after the former collapse. Despite the halving of the workforce, they were hailed as heroes. The public were skeptical and the suppliers reluctant to open supply lines again, add together the lack of a partner and sufficient funds this always looked like an attempt to support various peoples political careers and bank accounts, rather than a serious attempt at reviving a once great British Icon.
So as we stand here yet again, with 2000+ employee’s facing an uncertain future, thousand’s more suppliers are left owed millions, and thousands of owners left without warranty’s on vehicles with rapidly dropping values. We wonder if anybody else would be around to try again? They Chinese have gone, and there doesn’t seem to be any rush for anyone else to take control – perhaps this really is the end of Longbridge
Scenario No.3 – Nanjing Automotive Buy MG.
29th May 2007 - Following the sale of MG-Rover’s assets to Nanjing Automotive Corporation nearly 2 years ago, the world’s media met to celebrate the reopening of Longnbridge.
We were all skeptical and surprised when NAC outbid various rivals to gain control of the company back in 2005, they were open about there plans to center production around a new plant being built in China, however surprisingly they also committed to keep Longbridge at the heart of their European strategy. Surprising because Longbridge had become the bye word for failure and inefficiency over the years. Strangled by a lack of investment and used as a cash cow for its previous owners, some observers had wished that the site and the marques had disappeared once and for all – maybe one reason why British political and financial support was less than forthcoming for the new owners.
Everyone expected the ‘Lift & Shift’ operation to have singled the end of over 100 years of production at Longbridge, and see the gates locked for the final time. Not so, the Chinese met there commitment and re-started production, albeit employing small numbers of former workers, and launching the same vehicle that the previous owners had touted for several year previously. They told us that this was just the beginning and that greater employment, and future models would arrive in the years to follow, can we believe them? Is this just a false dawn? What makes them think they can succeed where everyone else had failed?
Well one big factor in this is that they don’t have to solely depend on sales in Europe for success, everyone before them centered production and sales on the market in the UK and mainland Europe. NAC have centered their plans on Asia’s growing economy and fast paced automotive industry. Having built one of the largest and most technically advanced production facility’s in China, they hope to sell almost ½ million vehicles a year in the near future, investing in not only 1, but 2 facility’s before even taking a single deposit on a single vehicle! Money gained from this will be ploughed into new products, innovations and facility’s – not only in China, but also in the UK.
The UK is central to their plan, why? Because to be saleable in China you need a foreign brand, and experienced engineers to help develop future products, add to this the factor that many European consumers aren’t ready for Chinese imports. A UK facility makes far more sense than some would believe. Longbridge provides a real link to the origins of the brand, a focal point for enrolling British engineers and a production base in the heart of Europe.
One of the most important reasons that could be ignored but maybe the most influential in the decision to retain Longbridge is pure politics. Nanjing and the Jiangsu Government can now declare to be the first, and the only Chinese Automotive Company to wholly own a production facility in the West. The kudos this carries in China is enormous, and helps provide regional and national political and more importantly financial support.
The future remains unclear, however we can only stand back and admire NAC for taking a positive approach to manufacturing in the UK, while everyone else is transferring there facility’s to mainland Europe or the Far East, they are reversing the trend and recognizing that business isn’t just about profit and dollars, but is also about people, heritage and having a long term view.
Given the three circumstances the choice in my eyes would be very clear, maybe I have been rather negative on scenarios 1 & 2, but I guess history and hindsight play there part in my writing, I was also party to all three propositions during that period that required the administrators to choose a purchaser, whilst I didn’t have any influence in the decision – I am glad that NAC won out in the end, at least they have proved to be honest and loyal to the brand and Longbridge.
These are my final words on this issue, I like many others hope that NAC prove the doom Sayers wrong, and we live to see Longbridge continue to grow, develop new products and continue to be at the center of NAC’s European operations.
Friday, 1 June 2007
Longbridge Re-opens for Business
So the big day has come and gone, my BLOGS up to now have been generally mild mannered and tempered to reflect a conservative approach to ‘reporting’. I never intended my BLOG to be hard-hitting, or even critical – but unfortunately my temper has been stretched after watching Tuesday’s reports by the media.
Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not naive enough to have expected a rose tinted view on the opening of Longbridge – however I had hoped for an open minded approach to something that none of us ever believed we would see happen only 2 years ago.
Let me start by putting things into perspective.
Mid April 2005 will forever be etched on the hearts and minds of 1000’s of employee’s,
suppliers, family’s and anyone associated with the Longbridge plant. It became clear during the days and weeks that followed, that there wouldn’t be any white knight in Shining Armour, no government rescue, not even a commitment from the preferred savior from China.
We watched as negotiation after negotiation, hope after hope disappeared into the distance, all we could do was observe, as our lives were ripped apart, livelihoods eradicated, dreams destroyed and futures left in doubt. The government poured millions into re-training and investigating what had caused such a disaster. The gates were locked and the plant mothballed, any future for the site looked bleak – former workers were told to move on, find new employment and leave the past behind.
Then a little known Chinese automotive company called Nanjing Automotive Corporation, managed to outbid a number of rivals to purchase the brand, the assets and the legacy that was MG and Longbridge. I wonder if they knew what they had exactly purchased? How deep the feelings for MG and Longbridge went, how significant the closure of Longbridge was to so many people, and just how well respected the MG brand was across the world. They made – some would say – ‘rash’ decisions and announced a commitment to keep Longbridge at the heart of MG’s future.
So a long journey started, a journey that meant an enormous investment by NAC in both time and money, immense challenges faced the company. With no production facility in China, no workforce, no suppliers, no infrastructure, no modern systems and no dealer network – NAC rose to the challenge and systematically achieved every goal that was set before them. One of those goals was the re-opening of Longbridge for production;
May 29th 2007 was the internally issued date for this enormous challenge, and as with all of the official claims made by this company, that day saw a magnificent celebration to celebrate an achievement that few of us believed we would ever see again.
So why I am so angry you may ask? Well having spent the whole day answering questions by the British media, it became very apparent from the first discussion with journalists at 6.20am that the tone would be negative. I conducted over 25 interviews, and almost everyone followed the same script: Why weren’t we employing 1000’s of ex-mg-rover employee’s? Why aren’t we releasing new vehicle platforms? Why haven’t we already enlisted dozens of dealers? And why do we believe we can make a success of MG, when BMW, and P4 failed miserably?
There was no mention of those dreadful days in 2005, no mention of the investment made into the brand’s future, not even a whisper of the massive achievements made by NAC. All the broadcast media would do, was convey a pessimistic view on the whole proceedings. Maybe its because I have been out of the country for a while, and I have been used to a press association that try’s to reward great achievements and success, a system that promotes employment and regeneration, and actively encourages investment by ‘foreign’ companies.
I discussed this situation with various journalists, and tried to explain that without NAC we would could have been cutting the ribbon to yet another Lego land housing estate, or opening a trading estate providing consumers with more electronic gadgetry they didn’t know they needed. I tried to convey the fact that this was merely the beginning, and our plans extended far into the distance. Let NAC be judged over 5 to 10 years, not just a few months. Yes we have started conservatively, but I would rather be involved with a slow burning revolution, rather than a flash in the pan. We have all seen those who arrived spouted great things and systematically worn the company and its employee’s down to the ground, started large and brash and ended just as quickly.
Criticizing a company for employing local people, providing local investment and declaring a positive outlook for manufacturing at the heart of the British motoring industry doesn’t quite seem a balanced view – but then again maybe I’m biased?I truly believe that this is the re-birth of MG, not only in China – but also in the UK, and who knows maybe across the world. Good Luck Longbridge and NAC UK, but most of all good luck MG.
Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not naive enough to have expected a rose tinted view on the opening of Longbridge – however I had hoped for an open minded approach to something that none of us ever believed we would see happen only 2 years ago.
Let me start by putting things into perspective.
Mid April 2005 will forever be etched on the hearts and minds of 1000’s of employee’s,
suppliers, family’s and anyone associated with the Longbridge plant. It became clear during the days and weeks that followed, that there wouldn’t be any white knight in Shining Armour, no government rescue, not even a commitment from the preferred savior from China.We watched as negotiation after negotiation, hope after hope disappeared into the distance, all we could do was observe, as our lives were ripped apart, livelihoods eradicated, dreams destroyed and futures left in doubt. The government poured millions into re-training and investigating what had caused such a disaster. The gates were locked and the plant mothballed, any future for the site looked bleak – former workers were told to move on, find new employment and leave the past behind.
Then a little known Chinese automotive company called Nanjing Automotive Corporation, managed to outbid a number of rivals to purchase the brand, the assets and the legacy that was MG and Longbridge. I wonder if they knew what they had exactly purchased? How deep the feelings for MG and Longbridge went, how significant the closure of Longbridge was to so many people, and just how well respected the MG brand was across the world. They made – some would say – ‘rash’ decisions and announced a commitment to keep Longbridge at the heart of MG’s future.
So a long journey started, a journey that meant an enormous investment by NAC in both time and money, immense challenges faced the company. With no production facility in China, no workforce, no suppliers, no infrastructure, no modern systems and no dealer network – NAC rose to the challenge and systematically achieved every goal that was set before them. One of those goals was the re-opening of Longbridge for production;
May 29th 2007 was the internally issued date for this enormous challenge, and as with all of the official claims made by this company, that day saw a magnificent celebration to celebrate an achievement that few of us believed we would ever see again.So why I am so angry you may ask? Well having spent the whole day answering questions by the British media, it became very apparent from the first discussion with journalists at 6.20am that the tone would be negative. I conducted over 25 interviews, and almost everyone followed the same script: Why weren’t we employing 1000’s of ex-mg-rover employee’s? Why aren’t we releasing new vehicle platforms? Why haven’t we already enlisted dozens of dealers? And why do we believe we can make a success of MG, when BMW, and P4 failed miserably?
There was no mention of those dreadful days in 2005, no mention of the investment made into the brand’s future, not even a whisper of the massive achievements made by NAC. All the broadcast media would do, was convey a pessimistic view on the whole proceedings. Maybe its because I have been out of the country for a while, and I have been used to a press association that try’s to reward great achievements and success, a system that promotes employment and regeneration, and actively encourages investment by ‘foreign’ companies.
I discussed this situation with various journalists, and tried to explain that without NAC we would could have been cutting the ribbon to yet another Lego land housing estate, or opening a trading estate providing consumers with more electronic gadgetry they didn’t know they needed. I tried to convey the fact that this was merely the beginning, and our plans extended far into the distance. Let NAC be judged over 5 to 10 years, not just a few months. Yes we have started conservatively, but I would rather be involved with a slow burning revolution, rather than a flash in the pan. We have all seen those who arrived spouted great things and systematically worn the company and its employee’s down to the ground, started large and brash and ended just as quickly.
Criticizing a company for employing local people, providing local investment and declaring a positive outlook for manufacturing at the heart of the British motoring industry doesn’t quite seem a balanced view – but then again maybe I’m biased?I truly believe that this is the re-birth of MG, not only in China – but also in the UK, and who knows maybe across the world. Good Luck Longbridge and NAC UK, but most of all good luck MG.
Saturday, 26 May 2007
From behind the scenes....
(This is a edited version of an article I wrote for "Enjoying MG" magazine, I thought it was appropriate to put it onto my BLOG, especially as the UK launch ceremony is only a couple of days away, I will of course be writing my own views on that celebration over the next few days)
I lay in my bed; eyes wide open listening to distant train horns. I reached over to my “Shou Ji” (mobile phone in Chinese), to check the time. It had just gone 3am and I knew that any attempt to get back to sleep would be fruitless. My stomach felt like I had washed a chicken madras down with 10 pints of Guinness the night before, and my head was buzzing as if the Guinness had been followed with half a bottle of whisky. The truth was that there had been no curry, no Guinness and not even a drop of scotch. The reason for my nervous disposition, was that today was the culmination of over a years work, a year of 15 hour days, 6 day week's and without any of the national or annual holidays that tend to get in the way of enormous projects like this one. Today was the 27th March 2007, significant as the day after my wedding anniversary, significant as the day I signed my first contract with NAC in 2006. But most significantly this was the day that we celebrated NAC’s 60th birthday, the day we would officially open the new MG car production facility in Pukou, and of course the first day we would launch production of our new cars.
More than 200 Chinese media would attend from TV and Radio.This was in comparison to the 30-40 international media that I offered to organise. I thought that I had the easier task. What I hadn’t understood was that the Chinese press were completely dictated to, and would follow commands like soldiers in the red army. Point and they would go, shout and they would jump, issue a press release and they would print. The international press – now they didn't understand these basic rules of command or instruction.
We had the worlds crop of journalists joining us, in order of appearance we had Sky News, ITN, Channel 4, CNN, Bloomberg News, Reuters, The Times, The Observer, Al Jazeer News, The Birmingham Post, and even the Irish Times.
I had agreed that the media could film on the day before the event, to ensure they had enough material “in the bag” before the big ceremony the following day. What I didn't expect was the extend of the requests for interviews, the filming of vehicles, and some of the bizarre demands made by a minority of journalists whose ego’s had outgrown there physical bodies, and would have normally been associated with Hollywood ‘A’listers rather than middle-aged men with receding hair lines, expanding waistlines and too much time spent watching clips of themselves!
I would like to say the previous days filing went without its problems but that would by a lie, we had a number of confrontations, that were only resolved unfortunately with raised voices.
I left the factory exhausted, with a stage half built, and the factory frontage still covered in scaffolding. It was 10 pm, and a bet I had made with the BBC earlier that everything would be finished in time, was looking increasingly lost.
I left home at 7am, and arrived at the Media’s hotel before 8 am. Everything was planned down to the last detail, apart from the obvious demands of the over indulged reporters, the comments “I don't do Coach’s” will always remind me of that stressful morning, pandering to numerous obscure requests. We made the long journey across the Yangtze, which was made more interesting as the whole city seemed to have been dressed up for the occasion. The 20 or so Kilometres between the hotel and the factory had MG flags positioned every 10 metres along the route, and enormous advertising hoardings had appeared overnight to line the way to the main entrance – to the astonishment of everyone (including me!) the frontage had been completed the signs had been installed and the grass had been laid. A Truly miraculous feet, only three weeks earlier the front of the facility had been a mile long stretch of earth and rubble – it had now been turned into a series of landscaped car parks, enormous paved areas and fountains. At the centre of all of this stood probably the world’s largest MG sign.
I made my way into the centre stage where overnight, a video wall, 1000 chairs, media areas, and giant plasma screen TV’s had appeared.
Several day’s ago, I was told that I had been chosen to drive the first MGTF onto the stage, I tried to keep my excitement to myself, fearing that the opportunity would be passed onto a more senior member of the team at the last minute.
I’m not sure what the dozens of senior government officials made of it, or even the dozens of more senior members of the NAC group thought of this English person, taking one of the greatest honours that will ever be available to the company. I didn't care – this would be a moment I would savour, and one I was incredibly emotional about.
After various speeches from numerous government principles and the Chairmen of the company, I was invited to the stage, in front of the enormous audience and a thousand flashing cameras, handed the keys by the Mayor of Nanjing, and dashed behind the stage to get into the car. The adrenalin was pumping hard and fast, my heart racing as I practised my clutch control. Following the Presidents car which drove in front of me, I found my way through the dry ice and parked the car in front of the waiting press and officials. The photographers didn't need their flashes – the grin on my face was enough to light the entire room. I opened the door and stepped out of the car, shaking Mr Yu’s hand for the waiting media pack, before walking of the stage.
Then as quickly as everyone had appeared, they all disappeared. I was left alone with some of my work colleagues, and the team brought in to dismantle the stage. Everyone had gone off to the lunch that had been prepared for the visitors and senior members of the company. I chose to stay behind and look after the BBC who would conduct live reports from the factory for the rest of the day.
More than 200 Chinese media would attend from TV and Radio.This was in comparison to the 30-40 international media that I offered to organise. I thought that I had the easier task. What I hadn’t understood was that the Chinese press were completely dictated to, and would follow commands like soldiers in the red army. Point and they would go, shout and they would jump, issue a press release and they would print. The international press – now they didn't understand these basic rules of command or instruction.
We had the worlds crop of journalists joining us, in order of appearance we had Sky News, ITN, Channel 4, CNN, Bloomberg News, Reuters, The Times, The Observer, Al Jazeer News, The Birmingham Post, and even the Irish Times.
I had agreed that the media could film on the day before the event, to ensure they had enough material “in the bag” before the big ceremony the following day. What I didn't expect was the extend of the requests for interviews, the filming of vehicles, and some of the bizarre demands made by a minority of journalists whose ego’s had outgrown there physical bodies, and would have normally been associated with Hollywood ‘A’listers rather than middle-aged men with receding hair lines, expanding waistlines and too much time spent watching clips of themselves!
I would like to say the previous days filing went without its problems but that would by a lie, we had a number of confrontations, that were only resolved unfortunately with raised voices.I left the factory exhausted, with a stage half built, and the factory frontage still covered in scaffolding. It was 10 pm, and a bet I had made with the BBC earlier that everything would be finished in time, was looking increasingly lost.
I left home at 7am, and arrived at the Media’s hotel before 8 am. Everything was planned down to the last detail, apart from the obvious demands of the over indulged reporters, the comments “I don't do Coach’s” will always remind me of that stressful morning, pandering to numerous obscure requests. We made the long journey across the Yangtze, which was made more interesting as the whole city seemed to have been dressed up for the occasion. The 20 or so Kilometres between the hotel and the factory had MG flags positioned every 10 metres along the route, and enormous advertising hoardings had appeared overnight to line the way to the main entrance – to the astonishment of everyone (including me!) the frontage had been completed the signs had been installed and the grass had been laid. A Truly miraculous feet, only three weeks earlier the front of the facility had been a mile long stretch of earth and rubble – it had now been turned into a series of landscaped car parks, enormous paved areas and fountains. At the centre of all of this stood probably the world’s largest MG sign.
I made my way into the centre stage where overnight, a video wall, 1000 chairs, media areas, and giant plasma screen TV’s had appeared.
Several day’s ago, I was told that I had been chosen to drive the first MGTF onto the stage, I tried to keep my excitement to myself, fearing that the opportunity would be passed onto a more senior member of the team at the last minute.
I’m not sure what the dozens of senior government officials made of it, or even the dozens of more senior members of the NAC group thought of this English person, taking one of the greatest honours that will ever be available to the company. I didn't care – this would be a moment I would savour, and one I was incredibly emotional about.
After various speeches from numerous government principles and the Chairmen of the company, I was invited to the stage, in front of the enormous audience and a thousand flashing cameras, handed the keys by the Mayor of Nanjing, and dashed behind the stage to get into the car. The adrenalin was pumping hard and fast, my heart racing as I practised my clutch control. Following the Presidents car which drove in front of me, I found my way through the dry ice and parked the car in front of the waiting press and officials. The photographers didn't need their flashes – the grin on my face was enough to light the entire room. I opened the door and stepped out of the car, shaking Mr Yu’s hand for the waiting media pack, before walking of the stage.
Then as quickly as everyone had appeared, they all disappeared. I was left alone with some of my work colleagues, and the team brought in to dismantle the stage. Everyone had gone off to the lunch that had been prepared for the visitors and senior members of the company. I chose to stay behind and look after the BBC who would conduct live reports from the factory for the rest of the day.
It was during this quite period that I found a spot to reflect on what had happened over the last 12 months, and try to come to terms with the emotions that had played on my mind ever since I joined the company. Several journalist had asked if I ever felt guilty about helping the Chinese to use this very British brand as if it was their own, to help them relocate 20,000 ton's of British heritage to China, and to help them to do all this at the expense of the 1000’s that lost there livelihoods some 2 years earlier. My answer to the media was always the same, I wasn't responsible for what had happened 2 years ago, I was merely a pawn in the decisions made by much more senior people, I too had lost my job, my livelihood, my pension and at times my dreams during that awful period in 2005.
NAC would have gone along with their plans for re-launching the MG Brand, with or without my help. At least by being part of that re-birth, I may have gone someway to ensure that they protected the history, and culture that surrounded the brand. Without the influence of the few original employees at NAC, they would still have launched the new factory, with new versions of the original cars – but maybe it would have been a false celebration, empty of a connection between the old and the new, empty of any true understanding of the brands heritage and the blood sweat and tears that had kept it going over the last 80 years. I would be lying if I hadn’t shed a few tears over the past few days, I was immensely proud of what we had achieved, but I was also incredibly sad at what had happened a couple of year s ago, and how there would be people sitting in the Midlands screaming at the TV, about the Gaul of the Chinese, the hatred for those of us that had helped them, and the dismay at how Britain had allowed yet another piece of British heritage slip into foreign ownership.
Monday, 21 May 2007
It’s been a slow week!
I guess it had to happen sooner or later, after 18 months filled with excitement, frustration, anger, joy, passion, disillusionment and enlightenment, I had to have a quite week – well quiet in Chinese terms!
We had had a very important visit from the Chairman of the Bank of China over the weekend, which meant everyone worked both Saturday and Sunday to ensure a positive image, and a good reception for such an important visit. Support from the Bank of China had been key to our progress, and would secure our future development plans. Thankfully the visit went extremely well and resulted in strategic agreements being agreed with the Bank.
Due to the weekend’s events, Monday would be a rest day for the entire workforce, a fact that I chose to ignore, and I travelled into work as normal. Being alone in the immense factory complex was very strange. The facility was eerily quite, after 14 months of intense activity – today was the first time during daylight hours that I could remember it being quite.
I wondered around the assembly hall checking the status of the latest batch of vehicles, and reviewing the most recent product audit results. Despite all the positive messages I was still keen to hold back production levels. Ever since I had started work in China, I had seen how setting a specific date meant that this became etched in stone – with blood! Once declared, there was no going back, no negotiation, no compromise no amendment, a fixed date meant – a fixed date. I had been careful to avoid setting a date for full commercial production – and offered a quality level instead. Achieve a level that we believed would be acceptable – then production levels could be increased.
Tuesday started with a visit by Zhang Xin, he is MR MG. A larger than life character, as most top manager’s seem to be. Young by international standards, infantile by Chinese he oozed confidence and charisma. He ruled MG with an iron fist, and a broad smile.
He came to tell me of some senior management changes, and that I would be getting a new vice-director. One of the senior managers from Sales and Marketing was being transferred to my department to help with the last push for Quality before full volume production.
This is how it worked in China, no discussion, no debate – just a dictate from the top guy. 12 months ago I would have been frustrated and perhaps angry at the lack of consultation – today I was at least thankful that I had received the information in private from the boss, believe it or not – this was a major step forward!
We had a busy week planed; a delegation from X-Part had arrived to discuss service part supply and quality. We had developed a good working relationship over the previous 12 months and I always looked forward to there visits – not just because it meant an opportunity to engage in some fluid conversation (conversation with my Chinese colleagues always had undertones of pigeon English – mainly due to my poor grasp of mandarin), but is also meant that the kind people at X-Part always brought various gifts to remind me of home. In the past this has included DVD copies of Only Fools and Horses, and The Fast Show, boxes of Paxo Stuffing, Bird’s Trifle, Tetley Tea Bags and bottles of HP Sauce. This time they came with 36 bags of Walkers Salt and Vinegar crisps – maybe not such a big event you think, but if you had seen my daughters face when I presented them to her the following morning – it was if Father Christmas had just delivered the entire contents of Toys-R-Us gift wrapped to the foot of her bed.
Wednesday. In-between the negotiations with X-Part we held a ceremony for destroying old parts. The idea was to show the workforce just how serious we are about the Quality of Parts we use. We gathered up a variety of parts that were substandard, pre-production or damaged and instructed the workforce that they are all inspectors of Quality. During my early years in the industry, army’s of white coats used to patrol the production lines and the storage warehouses, their responsibility was to inspect parts prior to fitment. This led rise to a certain animosity by the production workforce, and also a lack of individual responsibility from the line operators – “it’s their job to check the quality of the part’s, not mine!” this attitude changed with the introduction of supplied part approval, where the supplier became more responsible for the parts they sent, and the line operators took the responsibility for the parts they fitted – we changed from having dozens of men in white coats to thousands of inspectors over night. This concept hadn’t hit China yet, and many factories still employed ‘good-inward’ inspectors, and roaming inspection teams. I was keen to move to a western philosophy, and events like this helped force the message home. It also enabled me a childhood dream of driving a roller – albeit in my dreams it didn’t weigh 5 ton’s, have just two gears and a top speed of 5mph!
Thursday started with an interview with the Shanghai Youth Daily – no I hadn’t heard of them either, but the young lady who interviewed me, did so for 2 hours, it felt like a school exam!
The evening meant that I would take our guests from X-Part out for a traditional evenings entertainment. They had already been exposed to a multitude of Chinese restaurants for lunch and dinner during their stay, so I always like to vary their experience. I took them to my favourite Japanese restaurant (everything you can eat and drink for a tenner!), then onto a Karaoke entertainment club. I said traditional – I didn’t say which tradition though!
Friday meant a visit from the Chinese version of Autocar, they arrived early in a Maserati Quattroporte and an Audi A8L, they were doing a back-to-back road test and thought that the mileage from their office in Shanghai to Nanjing, would be a good way of killing two birds with one stone, we toured the factory and they took some pictures for the following weeks magazine. While I discussed various topics with the journalist, I noticed the photographer taking the word’s “freedom of the press” to new levels, secretly putting his camera onto movie mode and filming every detail of an MGTF we were building for a durability test, not sure what he hoped to gain from it, but I am sure it wouldn’t be long before I found out!
Late in the afternoon I travelled to Xuanwu Lake, where we would be training with a National Coach for Dragon Boat Training. After watching the performance of the other teams at our last race, the team manager invited some of the key people in the professional world of Dragon Boat Racing to come and give us some pointers. After hilarious attempts at standing in the boat, we made a few adjustments to the seating pattern and before we knew it, we were all standing and rowing at the same time, who knows with some more practise – maybe we would be in with a chance at the next race meet?
After all of that, perhaps it wasn’t such a quiet week after all?
We had had a very important visit from the Chairman of the Bank of China over the weekend, which meant everyone worked both Saturday and Sunday to ensure a positive image, and a good reception for such an important visit. Support from the Bank of China had been key to our progress, and would secure our future development plans. Thankfully the visit went extremely well and resulted in strategic agreements being agreed with the Bank.
Due to the weekend’s events, Monday would be a rest day for the entire workforce, a fact that I chose to ignore, and I travelled into work as normal. Being alone in the immense factory complex was very strange. The facility was eerily quite, after 14 months of intense activity – today was the first time during daylight hours that I could remember it being quite.
I wondered around the assembly hall checking the status of the latest batch of vehicles, and reviewing the most recent product audit results. Despite all the positive messages I was still keen to hold back production levels. Ever since I had started work in China, I had seen how setting a specific date meant that this became etched in stone – with blood! Once declared, there was no going back, no negotiation, no compromise no amendment, a fixed date meant – a fixed date. I had been careful to avoid setting a date for full commercial production – and offered a quality level instead. Achieve a level that we believed would be acceptable – then production levels could be increased.
Tuesday started with a visit by Zhang Xin, he is MR MG. A larger than life character, as most top manager’s seem to be. Young by international standards, infantile by Chinese he oozed confidence and charisma. He ruled MG with an iron fist, and a broad smile.
He came to tell me of some senior management changes, and that I would be getting a new vice-director. One of the senior managers from Sales and Marketing was being transferred to my department to help with the last push for Quality before full volume production.
This is how it worked in China, no discussion, no debate – just a dictate from the top guy. 12 months ago I would have been frustrated and perhaps angry at the lack of consultation – today I was at least thankful that I had received the information in private from the boss, believe it or not – this was a major step forward!
We had a busy week planed; a delegation from X-Part had arrived to discuss service part supply and quality. We had developed a good working relationship over the previous 12 months and I always looked forward to there visits – not just because it meant an opportunity to engage in some fluid conversation (conversation with my Chinese colleagues always had undertones of pigeon English – mainly due to my poor grasp of mandarin), but is also meant that the kind people at X-Part always brought various gifts to remind me of home. In the past this has included DVD copies of Only Fools and Horses, and The Fast Show, boxes of Paxo Stuffing, Bird’s Trifle, Tetley Tea Bags and bottles of HP Sauce. This time they came with 36 bags of Walkers Salt and Vinegar crisps – maybe not such a big event you think, but if you had seen my daughters face when I presented them to her the following morning – it was if Father Christmas had just delivered the entire contents of Toys-R-Us gift wrapped to the foot of her bed.
Wednesday. In-between the negotiations with X-Part we held a ceremony for destroying old parts. The idea was to show the workforce just how serious we are about the Quality of Parts we use. We gathered up a variety of parts that were substandard, pre-production or damaged and instructed the workforce that they are all inspectors of Quality. During my early years in the industry, army’s of white coats used to patrol the production lines and the storage warehouses, their responsibility was to inspect parts prior to fitment. This led rise to a certain animosity by the production workforce, and also a lack of individual responsibility from the line operators – “it’s their job to check the quality of the part’s, not mine!” this attitude changed with the introduction of supplied part approval, where the supplier became more responsible for the parts they sent, and the line operators took the responsibility for the parts they fitted – we changed from having dozens of men in white coats to thousands of inspectors over night. This concept hadn’t hit China yet, and many factories still employed ‘good-inward’ inspectors, and roaming inspection teams. I was keen to move to a western philosophy, and events like this helped force the message home. It also enabled me a childhood dream of driving a roller – albeit in my dreams it didn’t weigh 5 ton’s, have just two gears and a top speed of 5mph!
Thursday started with an interview with the Shanghai Youth Daily – no I hadn’t heard of them either, but the young lady who interviewed me, did so for 2 hours, it felt like a school exam!
The evening meant that I would take our guests from X-Part out for a traditional evenings entertainment. They had already been exposed to a multitude of Chinese restaurants for lunch and dinner during their stay, so I always like to vary their experience. I took them to my favourite Japanese restaurant (everything you can eat and drink for a tenner!), then onto a Karaoke entertainment club. I said traditional – I didn’t say which tradition though!
Friday meant a visit from the Chinese version of Autocar, they arrived early in a Maserati Quattroporte and an Audi A8L, they were doing a back-to-back road test and thought that the mileage from their office in Shanghai to Nanjing, would be a good way of killing two birds with one stone, we toured the factory and they took some pictures for the following weeks magazine. While I discussed various topics with the journalist, I noticed the photographer taking the word’s “freedom of the press” to new levels, secretly putting his camera onto movie mode and filming every detail of an MGTF we were building for a durability test, not sure what he hoped to gain from it, but I am sure it wouldn’t be long before I found out!
Late in the afternoon I travelled to Xuanwu Lake, where we would be training with a National Coach for Dragon Boat Training. After watching the performance of the other teams at our last race, the team manager invited some of the key people in the professional world of Dragon Boat Racing to come and give us some pointers. After hilarious attempts at standing in the boat, we made a few adjustments to the seating pattern and before we knew it, we were all standing and rowing at the same time, who knows with some more practise – maybe we would be in with a chance at the next race meet?
After all of that, perhaps it wasn’t such a quiet week after all?
Monday, 14 May 2007
Boats and Dragons
Amongst my many roles at NAC MG, one that is not too well known outside of Nanjing, is my participation in the company’s Dragon Boat racing team.
For those that don’t know, Dragon Boat racing is where 20 or so brightly dressed testosterone filled men, paddle like crazy across a lake or river, all hell bent on reaching the same goal. It’s colorful, loud, and filled with tradition and Chinese politics.
We had a successful year last year, not because of our strength or fitness level, but because we had a great team camaraderie, and a will to win. Our team was made up of all shapes and sizes, male and female young and old (well ok I was the old one!), and we had great fun. Little did I know that our success in 2006 would lead to problems this year!
In 2007 we were not only expected to take part in races but this time we were expected to win. Most of us did it just to keep fit and enjoy the occasion, but this was a new year, and it would be a new team! The young girls, and the less energetic of the team had now been replaced by monsters – gigantic Chinese athletes, with arm’s as thick as my thighs and backs as broad as they were long.
We hadn’t trained for a long time, and to say we were ‘rusty’ would have been an understatement, however after a couple of sessions, our muscles remembered what to do, and we were back into the rhythm. We thought that after a couple of months we would be in race condition again, but that’s not how it works in China! Just 2 weeks after picking up the paddle again, we had been entered into a race in the neighboring city of Changzhou. A warm up race you might think? Definitely not, we would be representing Nanjing – a city of over 6.5 million people - Gulp!
Day 2 and we headed off in the cavalcade of organized transport – 12 newly painted coaches with police outriders to stop the traffic, and allow a quick transfer. Driving through development zone after development zone, with major constructions sites the size of small villages littering the route to the start of the venue.
For those that don’t know, Dragon Boat racing is where 20 or so brightly dressed testosterone filled men, paddle like crazy across a lake or river, all hell bent on reaching the same goal. It’s colorful, loud, and filled with tradition and Chinese politics.
We had a successful year last year, not because of our strength or fitness level, but because we had a great team camaraderie, and a will to win. Our team was made up of all shapes and sizes, male and female young and old (well ok I was the old one!), and we had great fun. Little did I know that our success in 2006 would lead to problems this year!
In 2007 we were not only expected to take part in races but this time we were expected to win. Most of us did it just to keep fit and enjoy the occasion, but this was a new year, and it would be a new team! The young girls, and the less energetic of the team had now been replaced by monsters – gigantic Chinese athletes, with arm’s as thick as my thighs and backs as broad as they were long.
We hadn’t trained for a long time, and to say we were ‘rusty’ would have been an understatement, however after a couple of sessions, our muscles remembered what to do, and we were back into the rhythm. We thought that after a couple of months we would be in race condition again, but that’s not how it works in China! Just 2 weeks after picking up the paddle again, we had been entered into a race in the neighboring city of Changzhou. A warm up race you might think? Definitely not, we would be representing Nanjing – a city of over 6.5 million people - Gulp!
The 3 day event cut across the Labour Day holiday in China, on the first a banquet was arranged to open the event, with plenty of Bei Jui, and political speeches amongst the entertainment provided - In fact too much of both left some of us feeling very unfit the following day.
Day 2 and we headed off in the cavalcade of organized transport – 12 newly painted coaches with police outriders to stop the traffic, and allow a quick transfer. Driving through development zone after development zone, with major constructions sites the size of small villages littering the route to the start of the venue.
The venue itself was an enormous resort being building on the edge of Taihu Lake, Jiangsu’s largest, and covering over 2250 square metre’s! The posters showing the complex made it all look like Monaco, with tall white apartment blocks clinging on to the deeply forested mountain sides, and a harbor surrounded by posh hotels and restaurants. Despite only being half built the place itself had great potential, and the death defying drive through mountain passes on the way in, certainly made an impact.
As we peeled out of the coaches, we got a view of the competition, our jaws dropped. It seemed that the entire cast of Conan the Barbarian, and Bruce Lee’s Return of the Dragon had been replicated in some crazy Chinese DNA experiment. The guys in our boat, whom I had described as ‘monsters’ now looked like mere children. They wore sleeveless shirts, not because they allowed for freer movement of the arms when rowing – simply because they couldn’t find shirts with arms big enough in them! They also wore a kneepad on one knee – which bemused not only me, but also the rest of our team. We were keen to ‘put paddle in water’ and work off the hangovers we had accrued the night before, and jumped into our allotted boat. A few practice starts, and a bit of muscle burn to get us warmed up, then we saw it – a thunderous sight, 20 Chinese hulks half kneeling (the reason for the knee pad!), half standing in the boat, rowing so hard, they were making Moses impressions of parting the water around them, speed boats made less wake, and most were slower than these guys. Then another team with the same style, and another, and another – what had we got into? Our style and all the styles we had seen before were with your bum firmly fixed to the plank of wood across the boat, ours was a frantic but elegant style, this seemed primeval.
Primeval it may have been, but it looked incredibly effective, our chances of surviving the first round had diminished, we had reached our limit it didn’t matter how many muscle bound athletes we had in our boat, this style seemed to have made such an impact on the speed that the boat could travel.
The practice session over, and back into the coaches for the long journey back to the hotel, we were all exhausted and mentally scared by what we had seen, our confidence was rock bottom. An early start the next morning meant leaving the hotel at 7am. Several other teams had made the long journey to Changzhou, including a team from Beijing, and a crew from Shanghai – which was thankfully made up of expats from across the globe, including Canadian, American, Japanese, Korean, and even an English rower. I say thankfully because the attention we were getting from the crowd, other contestants and the media, was becoming tiresome – so a few more pale faces in the contest, meant we were left alone for a while!
The ceremony started with the usual political speeches, followed by the painting of the eyes on the dragon’s heads at the front of the boats.
We would first take part in the sprint, which covered 250 meters of frantic rowing, our previous best was 1 minute 13 seconds, We beat this by a clear 10 seconds, however the other teams left us in there wake, every team that chose to stand in the boat came in with a time under 1 minute. I was then told that several of the teams had participated in International races – representing China! The winners (and world no.2) came in with a time of 52 seconds, over 10 seconds faster than us, which over 250 meters is incredible. Mentally shattered we went back to our fisherman’s huts to rest and watch the remainder of the morning’s events.
Next was the longer distance race of 500 meters, from the start it was obvious that we weren’t going to compete at the same level as the rest of the teams, so our goal was to improve our personal bests, and treat the day as a training event for the next races.
We were far more competitive at this longer distance, and performed respectfully, knocking a massive 20 seconds off our previous best in a race.
The ultimate winners of the competition destroyed the opposition. They had already won the mornings sprint, and breezed through the heats, putting in times of 1:53.67, 1:53.35 and 1:53.64 on their way to the final, then full of self confidence let go and won by a full boat length with a time of 1:50.23, I was amazed at their performance, no wonder they were the worlds No.2.
The event itself finished as it had started with a Banquet, this time in honor of the champions. The usual Bei ju and beer flowed freely, as did the singers, dancers and strangely a saxophonist! Then the long journey back to Nanjing, and the end of a rude awakening to the professional side of Dragon Boat Races, rowing a pleasure boat in Stratford-Upon-Avon, would never have the same appeal!
Friday, 11 May 2007
The results are in!
Well my couple of week's restlessness, and wondering if I would have to find new employment once again, are over.
Last week I was virtually cut-off from civilisation (well I couldn't get an Internet connection for 7 days) and I didn't know how the media's visit to the factory in Pukou had been reported.
The first chance I got to check my email was on Sunday 12th May, via my sons PSP in a coffee bar, which happened to have wireless installed. On the little 4-inch display, I frantically searched the Internet for news. It was ‘The Sun's’ review by Ken Gibson that I found first, and then autocar followed by autoexpress and finally the Telegraphs. My son was keen to get back to his game, and my wife was giving me evil's! So I had little time to digest what had been wrote!
When I did have time, I was more than happy with the results. I had already written a ‘get out of jail’ blog, if it had all gone wrong – about how predictable the reports were. My expectations of Union Jack waving pieces about, poor Chinese standards, and “how dare they think they can build cars as good as the British” etc. etc. were completely unfounded, and I found the reports not only fair, but complementary about what we had achieved.
Their reports may be less biased than mine! But here is a collection of quotes from the articles:
Ken Gibson – The Sun – (http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2003090001-2007200629,00.html)
“The revival of MG in Nanjing is one of the most extraordinary stories in motoring history, underlining a power change in the car industry in favor of the Far East.
The sheer scale of what the Chinese have achieved is breathtaking and illustrates their fierce determination to return MG to its glory days”
“Anyone who questions the ability of Nanjing — should have been with me when I visited the factory.”
“the quality looks good.”
“I'd checked the outside, and the fit and finish was spot-on.”
“an 80-mile round trip from Nanjing railway station to the MG factory and back proved one thing – the Chinese can build a quality MG.”
“From the passenger seat in heavy traffic, the MG 7 felt quiet, refined and just like an MG ZT. In fact it felt like a very British experience. On a dual carriageway, the 1.8 litre K series engine – now known as the N Series – cruised serenely.”
“with precise steering and composed handling, while the manual gearbox was slick.”
“The leather seats were comfortable and supportive and the cabin felt as well screwed together as any British MG I’d driven.”
“my test drive was enough to convince me that MG is back.”
Andrew English – Auto Express –
(http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/208467/mg_7.html)
“On the move, the MG 7 feels comfortable and refined.”
“Another highlight is the MG 7's comfortable ride.”
“we were pleased to see that the car's panel gaps are even, and the paint is both evenly applied and lustrous”
“The future for MG now looks much brighter in China.”
“The steering and brakes inspire confidence,”
“MG is most definitely a force to be reckoned with again.”
“MG is back!”
Steve Cropley – Auto Car – (http://www.myautocar.com/community/article/article.do?method=article&sarticleId=kwNz)
“The ride is flat and well damped even with five passengers and luggage. The engine feels strong, the gearbox gate is well defined and the whole car retains that sub-Bentley feeling of durable luxury that made the 75 a good car.”
“well-built, nicely painted, coloured and trimmed with restrain, and, yes, desirable.’
“The first is refinement. It’s several years since I’ve driven a four-cylinder MG ZT, but this car seems notably quieter. the car’s inherent mechanical refinement, always one of its best characteristics, still compares well with class leaders.”
They all add up to probably the best bit of PR for MG in a very long time. It is so encouraging to finally read some good news about the brand and NAC MG.
As both Andrew and Ken Said – MG is definitely back!
(We are still waiting for Jason's article, but after the above I can again - sleep well!)
Last week I was virtually cut-off from civilisation (well I couldn't get an Internet connection for 7 days) and I didn't know how the media's visit to the factory in Pukou had been reported.
The first chance I got to check my email was on Sunday 12th May, via my sons PSP in a coffee bar, which happened to have wireless installed. On the little 4-inch display, I frantically searched the Internet for news. It was ‘The Sun's’ review by Ken Gibson that I found first, and then autocar followed by autoexpress and finally the Telegraphs. My son was keen to get back to his game, and my wife was giving me evil's! So I had little time to digest what had been wrote!
When I did have time, I was more than happy with the results. I had already written a ‘get out of jail’ blog, if it had all gone wrong – about how predictable the reports were. My expectations of Union Jack waving pieces about, poor Chinese standards, and “how dare they think they can build cars as good as the British” etc. etc. were completely unfounded, and I found the reports not only fair, but complementary about what we had achieved.
Their reports may be less biased than mine! But here is a collection of quotes from the articles:
Ken Gibson – The Sun – (http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2003090001-2007200629,00.html)
“The revival of MG in Nanjing is one of the most extraordinary stories in motoring history, underlining a power change in the car industry in favor of the Far East.
The sheer scale of what the Chinese have achieved is breathtaking and illustrates their fierce determination to return MG to its glory days”
“Anyone who questions the ability of Nanjing — should have been with me when I visited the factory.”
“the quality looks good.”
“I'd checked the outside, and the fit and finish was spot-on.”
“an 80-mile round trip from Nanjing railway station to the MG factory and back proved one thing – the Chinese can build a quality MG.”
“From the passenger seat in heavy traffic, the MG 7 felt quiet, refined and just like an MG ZT. In fact it felt like a very British experience. On a dual carriageway, the 1.8 litre K series engine – now known as the N Series – cruised serenely.”
“with precise steering and composed handling, while the manual gearbox was slick.”
“The leather seats were comfortable and supportive and the cabin felt as well screwed together as any British MG I’d driven.”
“my test drive was enough to convince me that MG is back.”
Andrew English – Auto Express –
(http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/208467/mg_7.html)
“On the move, the MG 7 feels comfortable and refined.”
“Another highlight is the MG 7's comfortable ride.”
“we were pleased to see that the car's panel gaps are even, and the paint is both evenly applied and lustrous”
“The future for MG now looks much brighter in China.”
“The steering and brakes inspire confidence,”
“MG is most definitely a force to be reckoned with again.”
“MG is back!”
Steve Cropley – Auto Car – (http://www.myautocar.com/community/article/article.do?method=article&sarticleId=kwNz)
“The ride is flat and well damped even with five passengers and luggage. The engine feels strong, the gearbox gate is well defined and the whole car retains that sub-Bentley feeling of durable luxury that made the 75 a good car.”
“well-built, nicely painted, coloured and trimmed with restrain, and, yes, desirable.’
“The first is refinement. It’s several years since I’ve driven a four-cylinder MG ZT, but this car seems notably quieter. the car’s inherent mechanical refinement, always one of its best characteristics, still compares well with class leaders.”
They all add up to probably the best bit of PR for MG in a very long time. It is so encouraging to finally read some good news about the brand and NAC MG.
As both Andrew and Ken Said – MG is definitely back!
(We are still waiting for Jason's article, but after the above I can again - sleep well!)
Monday, 7 May 2007
The Big Boys are in Town!
(This Blog was written a couple of weeks ago, but due to being stuck in deapest darkest China, without an internet connection, I have only just had time to release it - look out for many new updates this week)
If I thought the press conference was stressful, the next day was going to be worse. It had been arranged for some of the most powerful automotive media to visit our new factory in Nanjing. (In no particular order) we had Ken Gibson (The Sun), Jason Barlow (Top Gear Magazine), Andrew English (The Telegraph) and the daddy of them all Steve Cropley (Autocar). I have to say I wasn’t keen to host the day, I had my fill of the media on the days up to and including the 27th March, however our PR agency thought that this was essential for building up a relationship with the UK’s most important media – especially with the UK launch only around the corner.
I met the journalists and there photographer at the Grand Hyatt in Pudong, Shanghai. The hotel sits at the top of the Jin Mao tower – the worlds 4th tallest building, and the world’s highest hotel. They had been there as guests of BMW, and had attended the Shanghai Auto Show the day before. BMW had kindly allowed us to piggyback onto their schedule, which enabled us to entertain them for 1 day. Unfortunately my expense account didn’t quite match BMW’s, and I would have to rely on personality and content rather than gloss! We jumped on to the early morning express that now joins Shanghai and Nanjing (300km’s in 2 hours), and on arrival at Nanjing Station we were met by a brand new MG7, and an imported Rover 75, I quickly grabbed the keys to the MG7, and led the 2 car convey across to the factory in Pukou.
I met the journalists and there photographer at the Grand Hyatt in Pudong, Shanghai. The hotel sits at the top of the Jin Mao tower – the worlds 4th tallest building, and the world’s highest hotel. They had been there as guests of BMW, and had attended the Shanghai Auto Show the day before. BMW had kindly allowed us to piggyback onto their schedule, which enabled us to entertain them for 1 day. Unfortunately my expense account didn’t quite match BMW’s, and I would have to rely on personality and content rather than gloss! We jumped on to the early morning express that now joins Shanghai and Nanjing (300km’s in 2 hours), and on arrival at Nanjing Station we were met by a brand new MG7, and an imported Rover 75, I quickly grabbed the keys to the MG7, and led the 2 car convey across to the factory in Pukou.
I had been given strict instructions not to let them drive the vehicles, even close up photography was forbidden – how the hell was I going to convince the cream of the British motoring press, that after traveling half way around the world that they would not be able to drive or photograph the cars they had come to see? I decided that I would take the responsibility for any bad press we received. I knew my job was on the line if the reports were bad, but I also knew that these guys’s were professional, and that they would forgive maybe less than perfect cars – seeing as these were pre-production prototypes, being used for test and development rather than public consumption. A big gamble!
The factory, and our progress stunned them. My personal objective was to convince them that NAC was ‘playing’ at this. That this was a serious attempt at resurrecting a famous British brand, and our plans extended beyond the legacy of vehicles MG-Rover had left behind. The shear size of the factory, the amount of investment, and the evidence of our expansion plans being implemented – even before we have sold a single car, all went some way to convince them that we were definitely serious about MG’s future!
It was a Saturday and the plant was quiet, we were going through our pre-production preparation, and building cars in small batch’s, only increasing production levels in line with improvements in Quality levels. I desperately wanted to silence all of those doubters who have suggested they we haven’t built any of our own vehicles yet – and that we have just been ‘dressing’ up some old imports from the UK. I feared that the quiet factory would throw fuel onto the fire. Luckily both the engine and body assembly factory were running overtime. The media, witnessed both new engines being machined and assembled, as well as various MG7 body parts being welded by the automated welding line. It wasn’t full production, but at least it independently showed everyone that we were in fact making Chinese MG7’s and MGTF’s.
I spent 13 hours with some of the hardest automotive journalists in the world, they quizzed me on every aspect of the business, and maybe naively I answered as much as I could. As a company we have nothing to hide, but we had been criticized for poor communication in the past. Which has been more to do with a difference in cultures and language, rather than any underlying secrecy. I hoped that by opening our doors (and my mouth) we could go someway to ensuring both NAC MG and NAC UK get a fair crack at the whip. Completely exhausted both mentally and physically, I made my way back to Shanghai accompanying our guests back to their palace in the sky!
They seemed genuinely impressed with the visit, however I found myself having several sleepless nights, not knowing exactly how they felt – would they be positive? Would they be negative? Was my extraordinary life in Nanjing about to come to a crashing end?
It wasn’t long before the silence broke, and the first of the journalists wrote about their journey. Mr Cropley was the first to put pen to paper (or at least push the buttons on a computer!).
“Like an MG Rover, only better-madeThe tussle over the MG Rover clones is something that could only happen in China. Nanjing Automotive, winner of the bidding war to acquire the worn-out Longbridge company and its site, showed three MGs — the MG7 (a Rover 75) in long and short-wheelbase forms, the MG5 (a Rover 45 clone) and the MGTF sports roadster. All looked as capable and well built as anything to come from a British factory. Quality director Paul Stowe — a cheery, seen-it-all veteran employed in the Longbridge cause by MG Rover, BMW, the Rover administrators, SAIC (the failed, preferred bidder) and now Nanjing Automotive — confirmed that the quality was indeed high. The Chinese knew bad quality threatened their investment, he said, and that couldn’t be allowed to happen. These were not lashed-up cars in any sense. They were recreated Rovers and MGs in the same spec and restrained colours. What raised a smirk on both stands was the keen but naïve attempts of the Chinese to commemorate the British culture which created these cars, and which they obviously seem to love. For a moment, these things had a charade look about them — until your eye fell back on the cars themselves: well-built, nicely painted, coloured and trimmed with restrain, and, yes, desirable.”
(Quote: http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/225315/)
This led to my first good nights sleep in a long while, not so sure on being described as a veteran, a sign that China is taking its toll maybe? But I couldn’t be happier about his article. Back to the sleepless nights again now – waiting to see what Jason, Ken and Andrew write!!!
The factory, and our progress stunned them. My personal objective was to convince them that NAC was ‘playing’ at this. That this was a serious attempt at resurrecting a famous British brand, and our plans extended beyond the legacy of vehicles MG-Rover had left behind. The shear size of the factory, the amount of investment, and the evidence of our expansion plans being implemented – even before we have sold a single car, all went some way to convince them that we were definitely serious about MG’s future!
It was a Saturday and the plant was quiet, we were going through our pre-production preparation, and building cars in small batch’s, only increasing production levels in line with improvements in Quality levels. I desperately wanted to silence all of those doubters who have suggested they we haven’t built any of our own vehicles yet – and that we have just been ‘dressing’ up some old imports from the UK. I feared that the quiet factory would throw fuel onto the fire. Luckily both the engine and body assembly factory were running overtime. The media, witnessed both new engines being machined and assembled, as well as various MG7 body parts being welded by the automated welding line. It wasn’t full production, but at least it independently showed everyone that we were in fact making Chinese MG7’s and MGTF’s.I spent 13 hours with some of the hardest automotive journalists in the world, they quizzed me on every aspect of the business, and maybe naively I answered as much as I could. As a company we have nothing to hide, but we had been criticized for poor communication in the past. Which has been more to do with a difference in cultures and language, rather than any underlying secrecy. I hoped that by opening our doors (and my mouth) we could go someway to ensuring both NAC MG and NAC UK get a fair crack at the whip. Completely exhausted both mentally and physically, I made my way back to Shanghai accompanying our guests back to their palace in the sky!
They seemed genuinely impressed with the visit, however I found myself having several sleepless nights, not knowing exactly how they felt – would they be positive? Would they be negative? Was my extraordinary life in Nanjing about to come to a crashing end?
It wasn’t long before the silence broke, and the first of the journalists wrote about their journey. Mr Cropley was the first to put pen to paper (or at least push the buttons on a computer!).
“Like an MG Rover, only better-madeThe tussle over the MG Rover clones is something that could only happen in China. Nanjing Automotive, winner of the bidding war to acquire the worn-out Longbridge company and its site, showed three MGs — the MG7 (a Rover 75) in long and short-wheelbase forms, the MG5 (a Rover 45 clone) and the MGTF sports roadster. All looked as capable and well built as anything to come from a British factory. Quality director Paul Stowe — a cheery, seen-it-all veteran employed in the Longbridge cause by MG Rover, BMW, the Rover administrators, SAIC (the failed, preferred bidder) and now Nanjing Automotive — confirmed that the quality was indeed high. The Chinese knew bad quality threatened their investment, he said, and that couldn’t be allowed to happen. These were not lashed-up cars in any sense. They were recreated Rovers and MGs in the same spec and restrained colours. What raised a smirk on both stands was the keen but naïve attempts of the Chinese to commemorate the British culture which created these cars, and which they obviously seem to love. For a moment, these things had a charade look about them — until your eye fell back on the cars themselves: well-built, nicely painted, coloured and trimmed with restrain, and, yes, desirable.”
(Quote: http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/225315/)
This led to my first good nights sleep in a long while, not so sure on being described as a veteran, a sign that China is taking its toll maybe? But I couldn’t be happier about his article. Back to the sleepless nights again now – waiting to see what Jason, Ken and Andrew write!!!
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