Last British volume car manufacturer closes down
{{date|April 15, 2005}}

The last [[w:Britain|British-owned]] volume car manufacturer, [[w:MG Rover|MG Rover]], has closed down, with the loss of 5,000 jobs.

International accounting firm [[w:PriceWaterhouseCooper|PriceWaterhouseCooper]] was brought in last week to put the company into administration. Today PwC announced that MG Rover's only hope, the [[w:China|Chinese]] car company [[w:SAIC|SAIC]], had no interest in buying the ailing firm. With no further source of revenue, PwC has closed the company's factory in [[w:Longbridge|Longbridge]], [[w:Birmingham|Birmingham]] and has laid off 5,000 workers.

Some 1,000 workers will continue for a while to complete the remaining cars left on the production line.

The [[w:BBC|BBC]] reported PwC joint administrator Tony Lomas as saying "We'll explore what we would describe as the break-up of the business, we will carry on with the interested parties who want to talk about pieces of the business.". PwC said around 70 offers for various parts of the company had been made but no serious offers of money made.

Recent efforts to save the company had been centered on convincing SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.) to buy the company as a going concern, but the Chinese company stated it would only buy the company if it's financial position could be guaranteed to be secure for at least two years. The British government could not make such a commitment due to [[w:European Union|European Union]] trade and competition rules.

The SAIC company did buy the designs for the 75 and 25 models and for the K-Series engines for £67m.

The Rover car company has a long but troubled history. It was formed in 1968 after a series of mergers of existing car manufacturers, and was nationalized in 1975 after it ran into financial difficulties. In 1979 a long-running deal to collaborate on developing new vehicles was established with the [[w:Japan|Japanese]] company [[w:Honda|Honda]]. In 1988 the company was privatized and was bought by [[w:British Aerospace|British Aerospace]]. In 1994 British Aerospace sold the business to [[w:BMW|BMW]], who then sold the [[w:Land Rover|Land Rover]] brand to [[w:Ford|Ford]] and finally sold the company in 2000 for just £10, retaining the well-known [[w:Mini|Mini]] brand for themselves. The MG Rover company was run by a private group until its collapse.

MG Rover has not launched a new model since the 75 was introduced in 1998 during the period of ownership by BMW. Their next newest model was the 25, originally launched as the 200 series some ten years ago. Rover also produced the 45, which dates from 1990, and the ZF sports car first launched in 1995. Sales of Rover cars accounted for just 3% of the [[United Kingdom|UK]] car market in 2004.

Tony Blair announced a £150 million support package for the recently unemployed workers of the MG Rover plants, though it has been claimed that his generous offer may be more as a result of the nearby marginal seats in the upcoming elections than compassion on his part.

==Sources==
* [http://www.ukmediacentre.pwc.com/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=1414&NewsAreaID=2 "MG Rover group limited and Powertrain limited - both in administration - update by the joint administrators"]. ''[[w:PriceWaterhouseCoopers|PriceWaterhouseCoopers]]'', April 15, 2005

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4447323.stm "Thousands of MG Rover jobs to go"]. ''[[w:BBC News|BBC News]]'', April 15, 2005

*[http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=8195383 "MG Rover Faces Break-Up, Mass Job Losses"]. ''[[w:Reuters|Reuters]]'', April 15, 2005

*Adam Jay [http://www.guardian.co.uk/car/story/0,7369,1460603,00.html?gusrc=rss "5,000 Rover jobs to go"]. ''[[w:The Guardian|The Guardian]]'', April 15, 2005

*[[w:MG Rover Group|MG Rover Group]] - Wikipedia
*[[w:Rover 25|Rover 25]] - Wikipedia
*[[w:Rover 45|Rover 45]] - Wikipedia
*[[w:Rover 75|Rover 75]] - Wikipedia
*[[w:MG (car)|MG]] - Wikipedia

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[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:Economy and business]]
[[Category:England]]
[[Category:Birmingham]]
[[Category:Tony Blair]]
[[Category:MG Rover]]
[[Category:Honda]]
The last British-owned volume car manufacturer, MG Rover, has closed down, with the loss of 5,000 jobs.

International accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCooper was brought in last week to put the company into administration. Today PwC announced that MG Rover's only hope, the Chinese car company SAIC, had no interest in buying the ailing firm. With no further source of revenue, PwC has closed the company's factory in Longbridge, Birmingham and has laid off 5,000 workers.

Some 1,000 workers will continue for a while to complete the remaining cars left on the production line.

The BBC reported PwC joint administrator Tony Lomas as saying "We'll explore what we would describe as the break-up of the business, we will carry on with the interested parties who want to talk about pieces of the business.". PwC said around 70 offers for various parts of the company had been made but no serious offers of money made.

Recent efforts to save the company had been centered on convincing SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.) to buy the company as a going concern, but the Chinese company stated it would only buy the company if it's financial position could be guaranteed to be secure for at least two years. The British government could not make such a commitment due to European Union trade and competition rules.

The SAIC company did buy the designs for the 75 and 25 models and for the K-Series engines for £67m.

The Rover car company has a long but troubled history. It was formed in 1968 after a series of mergers of existing car manufacturers, and was nationalized in 1975 after it ran into financial difficulties. In 1979 a long-running deal to collaborate on developing new vehicles was established with the Japanese company Honda. In 1988 the company was privatized and was bought by British Aerospace. In 1994 British Aerospace sold the business to BMW, who then sold the Land Rover brand to Ford and finally sold the company in 2000 for just £10, retaining the well-known Mini brand for themselves. The MG Rover company was run by a private group until its collapse.

MG Rover has not launched a new model since the 75 was introduced in 1998 during the period of ownership by BMW. Their next newest model was the 25, originally launched as the 200 series some ten years ago. Rover also produced the 45, which dates from 1990, and the ZF sports car first launched in 1995. Sales of Rover cars accounted for just 3% of the UK car market in 2004.

Tony Blair announced a £150 million support package for the recently unemployed workers of the MG Rover plants, though it has been claimed that his generous offer may be more as a result of the nearby marginal seats in the upcoming elections than compassion on his part.

*  "Thousands of MG Rover jobs to go". BBC News, April 15, 2005

* "MG Rover Faces Break-Up, Mass Job Losses". Reuters, April 15, 2005

*Adam Jay  "5,000 Rover jobs to go". The Guardian, April 15, 2005

*MG Rover Group - Wikipedia
*Rover 25 - Wikipedia
*Rover 45 - Wikipedia
*Rover 75 - Wikipedia
*MG - Wikipedia
United Kingdom Europe Economy and business England Birmingham Tony Blair MG Rover Honda