MG expanding lineup with three new models

The limited-edition TF is already on sale in the UK, and over 80% of the 500-car production run is sold out. The TF is just the beginning of the Chinese owner's plans for the brand, however. Starting in 2010, the SAIC-owned MG will begin building a range of new cars, with the first to be a mid-size family car based on the Roewe 550.

Once the limited edition TFs are built, the UK factory at Longbridge will gear up for production of more entry-level TFs through 2009, targeting 4,000 units production and pricing below the Mazda MX-5. The same basic TF is also being manufactured in China, but Europe will only get UK-made TFs. The formerly Chinese-only Roewe 550, however, will see a variant badged as a MG offered in 2010, followed by a small hatch to rival the Ford Focus, a minicar in the style of the Ka and Fiat 500, and eventually a new sportscar to replace the aging TF design, reports BusinessCar.

MG's TF roadster has already been canceled for North American sale. The company had planned to send flat-pack kits made in China to the U.S. where they would be assembled in a subsidiary operation in Oklahoma, but the deal has fallen through.