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Chinese to Resurrect British Motor Industry in East China’s Jiangsu Province
In an expected announcement since Ford put Jaguar Cars and Land Rover on the block weeks ago, Nanjing Automobile Corporation has acquired the venerable British brands. Nanjing’s acquisition furthers their objectives to recreate British Leyland Motors in China.
Contrary to recent reports, Hyundai Motor Corporation will not acquire Jaguar/Land Rover. Nanjing nosed out Hyundai in the last flurry of bidding as the eBay auction closed.
Nanjing’s Acquisition Complements its Ownership of MG
The Jag/Land Rover acquisition complements Nanjing’s purchase of the MG brand from the defunct Rover Group.
Administrators (meaning the bankruptcy folks) for MG Rover Group Ltd. announced in July 2005 that the collapsed British automaker – or at least the MG portion of it (whatever that means) was bought by Nanjing. Showing unexpected aggressiveness, Nanjing announced in July 2006 that it would build MGs in China, England and in Oklahoma in the United States.
Nanjing’s competitor, Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation bought some intellectual property rights for Rover models for 67 million pounds in 2004. These rights were for the Rover 75 (also the MG ZT, but did the ZT go solely to Nanjing?) and Rover 25. SAIC is selling the cars under the Shanghai name. So while Nanjing cannot fully restore BL to its past glory, with MG, Jag and Land Rover in hand the company is off to a great start.
Berndt a Major Moving Force
Berndt Pischetsrieder, Chairman of Volkswagen AG, has been named as a senior advisor to the Nanjing board to oversee the cultivation and development of the company’s fine British marques. It unquestionably appears that MG, Jaguar and Land Rover are just a start for the plucky Chinese automaker. It is all but a certainty that other historic British Leyland nameplates will soon be added to the stable produced by Nanjing.

It can now be revealed that Nanjing is attempting to obtain rights to the Triumph, Austin, Morris, Riley and Wolseley nameplates in addition to the three is will soon control. The aforementioned brands were once part of the astonishing anti-business that was British Leyland. The company is believed to be in discussions with DaimlerChrysler to secure the rights to the Hillman, Singer, Sunbeam and Humber brands that were once part of Chrysler’s European business.
The possibility of a new and exciting 21st century Sino-Anglo reinterpretation of the Humber Super Snipe saloon has the entire global automotive industry holding its collective breath.

Can a Sino-American Resurrection be far Behind?
VehicleVoice analysts have also uncovered evidence of top secret studies being conducted by Chinese companies that could see the resurrection of valuable but defunct American nameplates. Among those being evaluated were: Edsel – a nostalgic brand with a short but well-remembered history. Ford would likely discount this brand name to Nanjing Auto if they can close the deal for Jaguar and Land Rover. DeSoto, Hudson, Packard, Studebaker, Plymouth and Oldsmobile are also among those brand names under consideration.
Stay tuned!