Iconic and now wholly Chinese-owned car maker MG is the fastest-growing British brand in the UK, according to official industry data.
Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reveal MG sales grew by 117 per cent in 2012, boosted by the opening of eight new dealerships.
The famous MG octagon enjoyed its best sales year in the UK since 2006, with more cars sold last year than in 2010 and 2011 combined.
That success was mirrored in China where SAIC Motor, MG’s parent company, sold over 200,000 units across its MG and (China-only) Roewe brands – a 23 per cent increase over 2011 – representing the biggest growth within the SAIC group’s automotive divisions.
Worldwide growth for the brand is equally encouraging with MG growing at a faster rate than any time in the marque’s 89-year history. In China alone, there are now 190 MG dealers and modern MGs are now sold in more than 40 countries across the globe.
MGs sold in the UK are designed, engineered and assembled at SAIC Motor’s European Design and Technical Centre in Birmingham.
SAIC continues to invest in design and technology with a pound 1.5 million ($2.26 million) expansion plan for the Design Centre in progress and a pound 1.4 million ($2.11 million) engine testing facility recently opened in Longbridge, Birmingham.
The brand is looking to continue heading north in 2013, following the recent introduction of DTi-Tech diesel versions of the MG6 GT and MG6 Magnette models, while an all-new model, the Fiesta-sized MG3, will soon start rolling off the Birmingham production line.
This year is also the second that MG will compete in the British Touring Car Championship. In 2012, MG driver Jason Plato took third place in the drivers’ championship in what was only supposed to be a learning year for the team in the brand’s return to racing.