MG’s UK launch delayed six months

Despite production of the MG TF roadster slowly starting up at the Longbridge plant in the UK earlier this year, officials claim production lines have since halted because of a recent merger between new owner Nanjing and Chinese rival Shanghai Auto. A spokesman for Nanjing said production is likely to be delayed until the first quarter of next year at the earliest.

Another hurdle is signing up new dealers to start selling the cars, but according to the spokesman there’s plenty of interest in the rejuvenated brand and up to 70 dealers will be onboard by next year. Once settled in the UK, Nanjing hopes to start selling the TF in Spain and eventually more European markets.

The final issue is fears the car is simply too old to compete with the competition, according to Car Online. The TF is now 13 years old and the first model to be sold will be an expensive limited-edition model. To deal with this, product planners will follow up with a budget model with limited features but we’re still unsure if this will be enough to woo buyers, especially in the face of tough competition from the new generation Mazda MX-5.