SPOTLIGHT FEATURE : MG MOTORS

Ankit Saxena Posted On April 7, 2019

MG, the initials of Morris Garages, is a British automotive marque registered by the now defunct MG Car Company Limited, a British sports car manufacturer begun in the 1920s as a sales promotion sideline within W. R. Morris’s Oxford city retail sales and service business by the business’s manager, Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés. Kimber was an employee of William Morris.

The MG business was Morris’s personal property until 1 July 1935 when he sold MG to his holding company, Morris Motors Limited, restructuring his holdings before issuing (preference) shares in Morris Motors to the public in 1936. MG underwent many changes in ownership starting with Morris merging with Austin in The British Motor Corporation Limited in 1952. MG became the MG Division of BMC in 1967 and so a component of the 1968 merger that created British Leyland Motor Corporation. By the start of 2000 MG was part of the MG Rover Group, which entered receivership in 2005. The assets and MG brand were purchased by Nanjing Automobile Group (which merged into SAIC in 2008) for GB£53 million. Production restarted in 2007 in China. The first all-new model from MG in the UK for 16 years, the MG 6, officially launched on 26 June 2011.

MG for over 9 decades has brought people together & brought alive shared experiences. What started as an excuse to get MG owners together for a few hours, is today a full-fledged MG community with more than 70,000 members across the globe, who come together to form the MG family. The MG owners (vintage, classic, modern MGs) share one thing in common, the love for MG cars.

Lets look at the Brand Journey of Morris Garages

1924 : THE FIRST MG IS BORN

Having outgrown his sales desk job, Cecil Kimber heads to the garage and begins to tinker around. Much tinkering after, he finished his own tuned version of the Morris Car, calling it the Old Number one.

1945 : BEGINNING OF COOL AFTER THE WAR

The company launched the MG TC, complete with latest features and gadgets. It sold nearly 2,000 units! This car can be credited with starting the American craze for the British sports car.

1956 : THE YEAR OF THE CLASSIC MAGNETTE

Initially, the MG ZB Magnette raised a lot of eyebrows. However, with its solid performance and superior features, the Magnette became everyone’s favourite in no time.

1962 : PRINCE CHARLES GETS AN MGC

MGB – World’s most affordable sportscar was built. The fact that over 5,00,000 MGBs were built just goes on to show how popular it was. When Prince Charles went to University, he bought the B’s bigger brother, the MGC.

1982 : GREAT THINGS, SMALL PACKAGES

After the doors of Abingdon closed, many assumed that this would be the end of the MG era. Contrary to popular beliefs, MG emerged stronger and launched the compact MG Metro. It has its own fan following still.

1983 : FIVE DOORS, A THOUSAND FANS

The world was changing, and design was changing too. The Metro gave way to a superior five-door hatchback with exceptional performance and handling, the MG Maestro. It further gave way to MG Maestro Turbo.

2007 : SAIC SPEARHEADS THE MG BRAND

The MG marque and Longbridge plant were taken over by Nanjing Automobile. Cut to 2007, Nanjing Automobile gave way to SAIC Motor, and MG pops back on the world map as MG Motor.

2017 : THE MAGIC OF E-MOTION

The resolutely ahead E-Motion came with an internet-compatible infotainment system, built on a pure-electric modular architecture platform. It boasts of 0-100 km/h in less than four seconds, and has a range of over 500km.

2018 : INNOVATION THRIVES WITH THE MG HS

MG HS – the next big thing by MG is all set to take the world by storm with a plush design and advanced technology, blind spot monitor, rear-cross traffic alert, a 360 degree AVM, 10.1 inch floating central display and much more.

The MG Hector is India’s first car that will offer connectivity on the go. And the brain behind it is the revolutionary iSMART Next Gen technology. It combines hardware, software, connectivity, services and applications to make your driving experience easier, smoother, and smarter. The biggest advantage of connected mobility is OTA (Over the Air updates). For the first time in India, a car will get updated over the air, the MG Hector. So, like your smartphones, you will get a new look screen and themes, new apps and new entertainment content from time to time as new updates are available.