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LONGBRIDGE DELAY “COULD BE GOOD NEWS”

23-01-2008

Delays in resuming car production at the old Rover factory in Longbridge could be good news according to the local MP Richard Burden. He blames the hold-up on the merger of the factory’s owners Nanjing Automobile with Chinese rivals SAIC – but remains optimistic about the future.

Last night’s Birmingham Mail reported that Nanjing’s self-imposed deadline for delivering the first foreign-built MG cars to UK showrooms by December 2007 had been missed.

Union leaders voiced “grave concerns” over the lack of activity at the plant, which was scheduled to employ 250 workers by Christmas. The story had an extra twist when the company’s spin-doctor Eleanor De La Haye said she couldn’t comment on long-term or short-term plans.

Burden, whose constituency covers most of the factory site, refused to be downcast, arguing that the “due diligence” process which is now being undertaken always takes time.

In the long run, he argues, the new dimension of SAIC’s involvement could be positive, because they own Rover's designs and other intellectual property, while Nanjing control the hardware.

“Ever since the collapse of MG Rover nearly three years ago," Burden said, "I have been convinced that the regeneration of Longbridge, together with the creation of sustainable quality jobs there, will not be principally dependent on either the volume of cars being produced, or the speed with which car production restarts at the plant.

“Far more important will be the extent to which Longbridge establishes itself as a centre of excellence and innovation in the technologies of the 21st century – including those addressing the environmental challenges facing the motor industry – and in the skills we can nurture here to achieve those things.”

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