When did MG stop making cars?

[SanKingston]

MG stopped manufacturing cars in the United Kingdom in September 2016, marking the definitive end of its British production era. All manufacturing was consolidated under its owner, SAIC Motor, in China. While the original MG Rover Group collapsed in April 2005, ceasing mass production, a period of limited final assembly continued at the Longbridge plant until the 2016 closure.

The key dates for MG’s production timeline are best understood through specific milestones:

Year	Event	Significance
April 2005	MG Rover Group enters administration.	Mass production of MG cars at Longbridge, UK, halts.
2007-2016	Nanjing Automobile/SAIC Motor revives the brand.	Limited final assembly (e.g., MG TF, MG6) resumes at Longbridge.
September 2016	SAIC announces end of assembly at Longbridge.	All vehicle production shifts to SAIC facilities in China and internationally.
Present (Post-2016)	MG operates as a global brand under SAIC.	Vehicles are designed and built in China, Thailand, and other global hubs, with no UK manufacturing.

The 2005 administration was the critical blow to indigenous British production. However, market data and corporate announcements show that the brand’s life was extended through acquisition. After purchasing MG Rover’s assets, Nanjing Automobile (which later merged into SAIC) restarted very limited assembly in 2007. This operation was more about finalizing kits shipped from China rather than full-scale manufacturing. Industry analysis at the time noted this model was not economically sustainable for the UK site in the long term.

The September 2016 decision was a strategic business consolidation by SAIC. By then, SAIC’s state-of-the-art facilities in China were producing the new generation of MG models, like the GS and later the ZS, at a scale and cost that Longbridge could not match. The closure formally transitioned MG from a British-made marque to a British-branded global product under Chinese ownership. Today, MG is a significant player in markets like Europe and Australia, primarily as an electric vehicle brand, but its manufacturing footprint is entirely overseas. The Longbridge site now focuses on design, engineering, and parts distribution.

[AdrianaFitz]

I worked at the Longbridge plant in the mid-2010s, right up until the end. The official word came down in September 2016—that was it. The writing had been on the wall for a while. We were basically doing final assembly on kits that came over from China, not building cars from the ground up like in the old days. It was a small team. When the announcement was made, it felt like a final chapter closing for making MGs in Britain. The brand is still around, sure, but it’s not built here anymore. All that production moved to SAIC’s factories overseas.

[StEmerson]

As a classic car enthusiast who followed the MG saga closely, the “end” happened in two stages. The real heartbreak was 2005 when MG Rover went under. That stopped true UK manufacturing. What happened after 2007 was more of a faint echo—a few cars were assembled at Longbridge from parts made elsewhere. The final nail was September 2016. That’s when SAIC, the Chinese owner, pulled the plug on even that limited UK assembly. So, for me, the answer depends on what you mean by “make.” Mass production? 2005. Any form of UK assembly? 2016. Today, an MG is a global car from SAIC, not a British-made one.

[DeTeagan]

From a business perspective, MG stopped being a UK manufacturing entity in 2016. SAIC’s decision to end Longbridge assembly that September was a pure logistics and economics call. Maintaining a low-volume assembly line in the UK was inefficient when their fully integrated, high-capacity plants in China were already building the complete car. The 2005 collapse killed the original company, but 2016 was the formal end of the post-2007 operational model. The brand continues successfully, but its manufacturing base is entirely globalized under SAIC, with major hubs in China and Thailand serving international markets.

[DeSabrina]

I‘m a recent MG owner in Australia, and I was curious about this history. My dealer explained it simply: the last time any MG car was put together in the UK was September 2016. Before that, after the old company failed in 2005, there was a small-scale assembly operation for a few years. My own MG, an electric ZS, has a “Made in China” label. The brand’s heritage is British, but all the modern cars roll off SAIC production lines in China or Thailand. It’s a clear break. So, if you’re asking when the UK factory stopped, it’s 2016. The brand itself didn’t stop; it just moved its entire production base overseas, which is why we have these new, affordable EVs on the market today.