Is MG a Joint Venture or Domestic Brand?
2 Answers
MG is a domestic car brand, but its production line was transformed from the original British Rover production line, and the engines are largely based on the original British Rover K-series engines, with some modifications and adjustments made domestically. Overall, MG cars can rival or even surpass joint venture cars in terms of sheet metal, paintwork, chassis, and other technologies, but they are slightly behind in automatic transmissions and lightweight design. The MG6 is the first mass-produced model of SAIC MG's Emotion Design concept car, equipped with SAIC's Blue Core 2.0 MEGATech powertrain, featuring the MEGATech 1.5T PRO engine and a 7-speed DCT280 wet dual-clutch transmission, delivering a maximum power of 135KW and a maximum torque of 285NM.
I've been fascinated by Chinese cars since childhood, and the MG brand is quite interesting. Originally a classic British sports car brand, it was acquired by China's SAIC Group as early as 2007 and is now wholly owned by SAIC. All design and manufacturing are completed domestically in China, with major factories in Shanghai and Nanjing, and the R&D teams are predominantly Chinese. It's completely different from joint-venture brands because it's not a Sino-foreign cooperative enterprise. I think this truly reflects the rise of China's automotive industry—from pure imports to mastering core technologies independently. SAIC has also repositioned MG as a youthful brand, with models like the MG6 selling well domestically, offering affordable prices and decent safety features, which makes me feel it's purely a domestic car.
