MG has announced that it will stop assembling cars at the historic Longbridge plant, despite a year-on-year rise in sales of 18%.
MG’s parent company, SAIC Motors, currently ships in part-built vehicles for completion at the Longbridge plant. However, cars will no longer pass through the MG factory as fully built cars ready for sale will land straight in from China.
Following a cost-cutting drive, this process will “no longer be required”, despite rising sales of 18% year-on-year and a 130% increase in market share.
The firm has confirmed there will be 25 job losses as a result, but sales, marketing and after-sales operations will remain at the plant.
The announcement comes only five years after the production line was reopened, some 16 years since the last new MG began production in the West Midlands.
More than 400 design engineers and other staff employed at the SAIC Motor Technical Centre (SMTC) site are not affected. Two models are currently designed within this facility, the MG3 supermini and the GS SUV.
Where possible, production staff would be moved into new role, a spokeman for MG has confirmed.
The Labour MP for Birmingham Northfield, Richard Burden, has criticised the decision, labelling the announcement as “hugely disappointing and premature.”
The Government are apparently willing to meet MG to discuss options. Quite how sales will be affected now that cars are no longer assembled in the UK remains to be seen.