Someone told me, or I read somewhere, that the UK is currently manufacturing/assembling more cars than ever before.
Is this true?
I guess it means Toyota in Burnaston, Nissan in Sunderland, Honda in Swindon, Rover in Brum, Jaguar in Cov/Liverpool, Land Rover etc have replaced BL, Ford, GM, PSA, etc
Anyone got any facts?
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Yeah. That MG execs have reportedly (allegedly, etc) set up a multi-million pound trust fund, or something like that, for themselves and their families while the factory has been losing money for ages. Any betting there soon won't be an MG plant??
Cynical, me? No, I prefer 'realistic'.
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The same execs that put money in and rescued the company? Good luck to them. They took risks, they can have rewards. Everyone else just whinges.
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It does seem of late that more and more new cars are being sold although the manufacturers don't seem to be making much money. The car market seems to have got more competitive.
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I think UK manufacture of cars has never been higher at any other time and most of them are for export.
As a sidenote, I find it ironic that the newspaper to complain the most bitterly about MGR financial arrangements (The Guardian) is itself part of an organisation ran in exactly the same way as MGR. The often loss making Guardian and Observer newspapers held as separate companies from the profitable Manchester Evening News with cross-subsidisation of these two rags.
Pot, Kettle, Black perhaps?
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I think UK manufacture of cars has never been higher at any other time and most of them are for export. As a sidenote, I find it ironic that the newspaper to complain the most bitterly about MGR financial arrangements (The Guardian) is itself part of an organisation ran in exactly the same way as MGR. The often loss making Guardian and Observer newspapers held as separate companies from the profitable Manchester Evening News with cross-subsidisation of these two rags. Pot, Kettle, Black perhaps?
Not quite. If the Guardian and/or Observer goes splot, the folks running it do not stand to make £30million or £100 million quid between them. No individuals arfe going to divide the capital of the Scott Trust.
Nick asked "The same execs that put money in and rescued the company?" -- but they did so with massive subsidies from BMW and have now apparently insulated the assets from the risk-making parts of the business. Rewards for risk is one thing, but the reports (if accurate) suggest that the Tower consortium has set itself up so that the owners could benefit from a windfall, but cannot be exposed to the risks.
The Guardian report may be wrong, but if it is, it would be nice to see some assurance from the Tower consortium that they do genuinely carry the risk as well as the benefits
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Not to mention Peugeot in Coventry, Mini in Oxford, Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port, Bently in Crewe, Rolls Royce in Goodwood & Ford's Transit factory in Southampton.
It is ironic that cars such as the Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo are still perceived by many as 'British', despite being made by an American company in Belgium or Spain while British built Civics & Avensis are still perceived as 'Japanese'.
That's the power of marketing....
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I think carrying the risk of 60,000 people directly and indirectly employed around Birmingham and their livelihoods is risk enough. People think their behaviour is bad but Ford is saddled with enormous debts and still trades, so does GM who cross-fund car production with its finance arm. MG Rover are not alone in their approach.
How the Guardian drew that conclusion is anyone's guess, in two articles on the same day, one said £100m, the other £70m but the only source they referred to was the statement to shareholders. Limited companies do not publicise accounts.
In a letter to the Guardian today, Tony Woodley said that he was totally satisified the directors are pouring all the cash they can into product development.
Quite why the Guardian picks a two month old news story for its front page on the same day the Rover V8 is launched is anyone's guess.
In terms of UK car manufacturing levels, MG Rover chip in with 140,000 cars mainly all for the domestic market but they have opened new dealerships in over 15 countries now and the push is on for the US market. It's easy to forget they are still a £1bn+ a year turnover company and play an essential part to the West Midlands economy.
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