It's Over for Rover (Britian's last car company, bankrupt)
04-07-2005, 05:24 PM
#1
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It's Over for Rover (Britian's last car company, bankrupt)
Britian's last independent car company is apparently on it's last legs:
MG Rover starts bankruptcy procedures after China deal fails
Business - AFP
LONDON (AFP) - Britain's MG Rover has begun bankruptcy procedures after China's Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SAIC) pulled out of a proposed tie-up, Britain's trade secretary said.
The announcement of the collapse of the deal signals the end of Britain's last independent automaker and the likely loss of thousands of jobs, and comes a day after the government announced a general election in a month's time.
"Tonight MG Rover has announced that their board has decided to call in the receivers," Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said in a terse statement at a press conference.
"Everyone recognized that a partnership with SAIC was critical to MGR's future," Hewitt said.
"In the end, SAIC made it clear that they were not confident about the future solvency of MG Rover, and therefore there was no reasonable prospect of a deal."
A source at the Chinese firm also said that sufficient British state funding for Rover had not been forthcoming so "there could be no deal".
Rover's entry into receivership means that outside financial administrators will take control of the company and assess its assets and debts in advance of possible liquidation.
Earlier on Thursday Rover halted production at its main car factory site in Longbridge, in the central English city Birmingham, where some 6,100 workers are employed.
The plant is surrounded by key marginal constituencies which will be fought over in the following weeks by Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party and opposition rivals.
In a bid to avoid the job losses and save the deal, the government had stressed that its bridge loan of 100 million pounds (146 million euros, 188 million dollars) was still on the table.
But Hewitt said the Chinese company ultimately found the offer insufficient.
"The government stood ready to issue bridging finance of over 100 million pounds to help, but without a deal there was no possibility of a bridging loan, SAIC, for their part, indicating that bridging loan finance would not have solved their concerns."
A spokesman for SAIC, quoted by Britain's Press Association newswire, said the company always made it clear that MG Rover would have to be solvent for at least two years for the partnership deal to go ahead.
He said that the British government had offered to provide interim grant aid, but added: "Such grant aid has not been forthcoming. SAIC can do nothing. There can be no deal."
MG Rover, which produced its first car in 1904, was bought by BMW in 1994, but the German carmaker pulled out in 2000, and was saved from closure by a group of local businessmen, including its then-chief executive John Towers.
Tony Woodley, leader of the Transport and General Workers Union, said some blame for Rover's "deathknell" went to German carmaker BMW for walking away from the company.
Business - AFP
LONDON (AFP) - Britain's MG Rover has begun bankruptcy procedures after China's Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SAIC) pulled out of a proposed tie-up, Britain's trade secretary said.
The announcement of the collapse of the deal signals the end of Britain's last independent automaker and the likely loss of thousands of jobs, and comes a day after the government announced a general election in a month's time.
"Tonight MG Rover has announced that their board has decided to call in the receivers," Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said in a terse statement at a press conference.
"Everyone recognized that a partnership with SAIC was critical to MGR's future," Hewitt said.
"In the end, SAIC made it clear that they were not confident about the future solvency of MG Rover, and therefore there was no reasonable prospect of a deal."
A source at the Chinese firm also said that sufficient British state funding for Rover had not been forthcoming so "there could be no deal".
Rover's entry into receivership means that outside financial administrators will take control of the company and assess its assets and debts in advance of possible liquidation.
Earlier on Thursday Rover halted production at its main car factory site in Longbridge, in the central English city Birmingham, where some 6,100 workers are employed.
The plant is surrounded by key marginal constituencies which will be fought over in the following weeks by Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party and opposition rivals.
In a bid to avoid the job losses and save the deal, the government had stressed that its bridge loan of 100 million pounds (146 million euros, 188 million dollars) was still on the table.
But Hewitt said the Chinese company ultimately found the offer insufficient.
"The government stood ready to issue bridging finance of over 100 million pounds to help, but without a deal there was no possibility of a bridging loan, SAIC, for their part, indicating that bridging loan finance would not have solved their concerns."
A spokesman for SAIC, quoted by Britain's Press Association newswire, said the company always made it clear that MG Rover would have to be solvent for at least two years for the partnership deal to go ahead.
He said that the British government had offered to provide interim grant aid, but added: "Such grant aid has not been forthcoming. SAIC can do nothing. There can be no deal."
MG Rover, which produced its first car in 1904, was bought by BMW in 1994, but the German carmaker pulled out in 2000, and was saved from closure by a group of local businessmen, including its then-chief executive John Towers.
Tony Woodley, leader of the Transport and General Workers Union, said some blame for Rover's "deathknell" went to German carmaker BMW for walking away from the company.
04-07-2005, 05:32 PM
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Re: It's Over for Rover (Britian's last car company, bankrupt)
The best thing BMW did was to ditch Rover since the whole reason they bought Rover to begin with was to aquire the Mini brand anyway.
Theres a great book that out that chronicles everything about BMW buying Rover then selling and how the new Mini almost got killed in the Soap opera between the Brits and the Germans.
Theres a great book that out that chronicles everything about BMW buying Rover then selling and how the new Mini almost got killed in the Soap opera between the Brits and the Germans.
Last edited by johnsocal; 04-07-2005 at 09:30 PM.
04-07-2005, 05:35 PM
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Re: It's Over for Rover (Britian's last car company, bankrupt)
I am very sorry to see that happen. My father's other toy (aside from his '02 Formula) is a hopped up (yes, there's quite a performance parts aftermarket for some British cars!!) '75 MGB that my grandmother purchased in March, 1980...a month before I was born. We were always hoping eventually MG would come back to the U.S. in one form or another...there were rumblings about it before BMW pulled out. Such a shame...
04-07-2005, 05:41 PM
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Re: It's Over for Rover (Britian's last car company, bankrupt)
In the postive side of things BMW recently announced they are pumping in another 100 million in the Mini plant in Oxford to increase capacity since they can't build enough Mini to keep up with demand and prepare for the next-gen Mini that comes out in 2007:
from- http://mini2.com/news/news286.html
The BMW Group is investing over £100 million in its Oxford plant between now and 2007 and is creating around 200 new jobs in MINI production.
MINI2 today attended a press conference at the future site of the new body in white facility expansion at BMW Plant Oxford, where BMW chiefs revealed details of their plans for the future of the MINI production facility.
Most of the investment is destined for a new body shell production building and further modernisation of the paint shop to increase production flexibility at the plant.
Laying the foundation stone for the new 15,000 m² body shop, Dr Norbert Reithofer, member of the board for production at BMW AG, today signalled the start of preparation for MINI production to meet the future needs of the brand and the market. "These measures will allow us to react even more flexibly to the high demand for MINI throughout the world. At the same time, we are increasing our flexibility as regards the production of the various MINI model variants", said Reithofer.
Since its launch in 2001, production figures for the MINI, originally planned for around 100,000 vehicles per year, reached a record level of 189,492 in 2004 making the Oxford plant the 4th largest vehicle producer in the UK. The total number of employees has risen to 4,500 including 128 apprentices.
This growth has been based on continuous efficiency improvements in production processes including ideas from the plant's employees which have led to savings of £17.2 million since 2002. With one of the most flexible working time models in the UK automotive industry, the current three-shift working pattern enables the plant, in response to customer demand, to run 7 days and up to 134 hours per week using the remaining time for maintenance and cleaning.
Dr Heiss, managing director of Plant Oxford, said: "It's not just the high quality of vehicles produced here but also the customer focus and production flexibility that have played such a major role in the car's success. The contribution of our employees through their flexibility and commitment to MINI has also provided the foundation for this latest investment. Today's ceremony marks a further milestone in the future of MINI in Oxford and the MINI adventure is set to continue!"
From 2007, over 80 people and 160 computer-controlled welding robots will be assembling MINI body shells in the new building. The paint shop will be equipped with new, highly efficient and flexible paint technologies to improve both capacity and flexibility.
The links between the Oxford plant and the BMW Group's plants at Hams Hall and Swindon are also to be strengthened with the supply of engines and pressed parts.
A time capsule, containing a MINI model, some MINI production materials, a drawing by one of the children at the company's MINI Kidz day nursery adjacent to the plant, and a copy of the Oxford Mail newspaper, is being laid with the foundation stone.
Between 2000 and 2004, the BMW Group invested £280 million in the production of MINI vehicles in Oxford. MINI is on sale in more than 70 different countries from Chile to China and worldwide sales since launch reached a total of 529,921 vehicles at the end of 2004. The UK remains the largest market followed by the US and Germany with more than 70 per cent of MINIs being exported from the Oxford plant
from- http://mini2.com/news/news286.html
The BMW Group is investing over £100 million in its Oxford plant between now and 2007 and is creating around 200 new jobs in MINI production.
MINI2 today attended a press conference at the future site of the new body in white facility expansion at BMW Plant Oxford, where BMW chiefs revealed details of their plans for the future of the MINI production facility.
Most of the investment is destined for a new body shell production building and further modernisation of the paint shop to increase production flexibility at the plant.
Laying the foundation stone for the new 15,000 m² body shop, Dr Norbert Reithofer, member of the board for production at BMW AG, today signalled the start of preparation for MINI production to meet the future needs of the brand and the market. "These measures will allow us to react even more flexibly to the high demand for MINI throughout the world. At the same time, we are increasing our flexibility as regards the production of the various MINI model variants", said Reithofer.
Since its launch in 2001, production figures for the MINI, originally planned for around 100,000 vehicles per year, reached a record level of 189,492 in 2004 making the Oxford plant the 4th largest vehicle producer in the UK. The total number of employees has risen to 4,500 including 128 apprentices.
This growth has been based on continuous efficiency improvements in production processes including ideas from the plant's employees which have led to savings of £17.2 million since 2002. With one of the most flexible working time models in the UK automotive industry, the current three-shift working pattern enables the plant, in response to customer demand, to run 7 days and up to 134 hours per week using the remaining time for maintenance and cleaning.
Dr Heiss, managing director of Plant Oxford, said: "It's not just the high quality of vehicles produced here but also the customer focus and production flexibility that have played such a major role in the car's success. The contribution of our employees through their flexibility and commitment to MINI has also provided the foundation for this latest investment. Today's ceremony marks a further milestone in the future of MINI in Oxford and the MINI adventure is set to continue!"
From 2007, over 80 people and 160 computer-controlled welding robots will be assembling MINI body shells in the new building. The paint shop will be equipped with new, highly efficient and flexible paint technologies to improve both capacity and flexibility.
The links between the Oxford plant and the BMW Group's plants at Hams Hall and Swindon are also to be strengthened with the supply of engines and pressed parts.
A time capsule, containing a MINI model, some MINI production materials, a drawing by one of the children at the company's MINI Kidz day nursery adjacent to the plant, and a copy of the Oxford Mail newspaper, is being laid with the foundation stone.
Between 2000 and 2004, the BMW Group invested £280 million in the production of MINI vehicles in Oxford. MINI is on sale in more than 70 different countries from Chile to China and worldwide sales since launch reached a total of 529,921 vehicles at the end of 2004. The UK remains the largest market followed by the US and Germany with more than 70 per cent of MINIs being exported from the Oxford plant
Last edited by johnsocal; 04-07-2005 at 05:44 PM.
04-07-2005, 09:32 PM
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Re: It's Over for Rover (Britian's last car company, bankrupt)
A chinese firm will most likely buy the rights to the Rover and MG name and begin producing chinese made cars with those names and then sell them back to the Brits.
04-08-2005, 12:23 AM
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Re: It's Over for Rover (Britian's last car company, bankrupt)
It's just another show of display how China and Japan are trying to dictate what happens in the world. China pulled out of the deal, based on false hopes from the Chinese to Rover.
There will be more like it. I think that VDub may go before the end of the decade if their current slide continues.
Also, please remember. Shanghai Automotive is the key partner to GM in China. Imagine what sort of trouble GM could be in if Shanghai "backed out" of their agreements with GM....
There will be more like it. I think that VDub may go before the end of the decade if their current slide continues.
Also, please remember. Shanghai Automotive is the key partner to GM in China. Imagine what sort of trouble GM could be in if Shanghai "backed out" of their agreements with GM....
04-08-2005, 01:11 AM
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Re: It's Over for Rover (Britian's last car company, bankrupt)
Originally Posted by Josh452
Also, please remember. Shanghai Automotive is the key partner to GM in China. Imagine what sort of trouble GM could be in if Shanghai "backed out" of their agreements with GM....
04-08-2005, 06:38 AM
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Re: It's Over for Rover (Britian's last car company, bankrupt)
Its only a matter of time before we hear that GM baught this compagny... gave them 2 billion $, and are going to badge engeneer the trailblazer,impala and another variation of the G6 and bring them in the US to be an american volvo hahah 
04-08-2005, 09:11 AM
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Re: It's Over for Rover (Britian's last car company, bankrupt)
Originally Posted by AAAAAAA
Its only a matter of time before we hear that GM baught this compagny... gave them 2 billion $, and are going to badge engeneer the trailblazer,impala and another variation of the G6 and bring them in the US to be an american volvo hahah
Lets hope GM's corporate mentality changes, because that seems very plausible under the current business model.
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