What have David Beckham, Prince William, Princess Kate and Kate Moss got to do with the British car industry?
Funnily enough, everything, especially if you subscribe to the theory that it’s a case of when, not if, the Chinese-owned car makers start to prevail throughout the global industry. Even so, discovering that fact at the Bao Shan MG dealership on the outskirts of Shanghai was a surprise.
The visit, arranged, by MG, was designed to get a flavour of this booming car market; what I had underestimated was just how strong a part Britishness and heritage plays in persuading Chinese buyers that MG is the brand for them.
Here was a large dealership, part roomy, pristine and impressive, part looking like someone had thrown together a parking lot on a particularly unkempt piece of ground. Given it was next door to a Bentley dealership and up the road from similar Ford, Audi and Kia dealerships, the ramshackle outside jarred with the ordered calm inside.
But here was the rub. This MG dealership sold 1000 cars in 2012, and was now selling 35 cars a week. Inside, by the entrance doors, were handwritten whiteboards with customers’ names on. This week’s collections? Nope, a long list of the cars that were leaving the dealership today and tomorrow. No wonder the outside space looked like an especially cramped parking lot…
Then, inside, I was confronted by the aforementioned Becks, Wills and Kates, plus images of Big Ben, Union Flags and the like. Further down the scale, an MG 6 sat in pride of place bearing a homage to its British-sourced What Car? security award. Glass cabinets were filled with black and white pictures of MG triumphs from years gone by. Videos of the annual MG Live! festival at Silverstone were playing. If it was British, it was deemed to resonate. To my complete shock, they were even selling the MG6 BTCC edition here, the antics of Jason Plato seemingly capturing the imagination back in China in a way that marketeers back here can only dream of.
But this wasn’t just marketing pony. Out front, MG had pulled in a happy customer, Summer Ying. Aged 31 and an advertising executive, she proudly presented her modified MG3, all big wheels, big rear wing and, erm, a lot of pink vinyl. It wasn’t to my taste, and as you'll see in the happy snapped gallery above it probably isn’t to yours, but that wasn’t the point – MG’s personalisation programme knows no limits, and all combines with its emphasis on Britishness and heritage to grab customers.
“MG is a cool brand, it is fashionable, like the British,” said Summer, presumably forgiving the deeply unhip case study stood in front of her. “UK fashion is absolutely the thing to follow, and MG has that. I like Hunter boots, Barbour jackets, and it is those kind of images that I associate with MG and Britain. Beckham has played in China, Kate Moss is a fashion icon and of course we know the royal family.”
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MG should focus on quality not 'Britishness'
As a British born Chinese who has been a fan of MG and BMW ever since the Rover days, it doesn't surprise me that SAIC is choosing to market MG like this. It probably is their best 'card' at the moment in their hands. But what really matters at the end (despite all the hype) is still quality - if the product is terrible it won't save the brand (because the Chinese today are very quality-conscious).
As it happens during my uni years I actually did a full thesis on the BMW-Rover takeover for my Strategic Management course, which I was studying at the time in London. As it went a friend of mine on my course happened to be a family friend of Burkhard Goeschel, who was then-BMW's head of research and development (in 1998). She was heading back home to Germany that semester and from questions I had given to her for Goeschel, I was able to glean much more background info about the Rover acquisition. From what I uncovered, a lot of interesting things came up. From what I learnt, BMW was primarily an engineering outfit. They are first and foremost an engineering firm, who spend tonnes on R&D every year. You don't get to where they are without spending a lot. However whilst the Mini and Land Rover brands did very well for them in general (with LR able to provide for BMW the basis to build the X5), Rover on the other hand didn't seem like a good fit no matter what. Probably because BMW was an incredibly 'sporty' brand and Rover didn't seem to have any sporting heritage (or brand cachet) at all. Despite the dangers the acquisition might have brought BMW down (with Rover losing money), Bernd Pischetsreider (then BMW boss and distant cousin of Alec Issigonis the Mini designer) had high hopes that Rover as a brand would succeed. Obviously history has told us otherwise...
What I'm trying to say is....what really matters at the end (despite all the hype) for ALL manufacturers, is still quality and style - if the product is terrible it won't save the brand no matter which country it is from. While I am happy that my countrymen (on both sides of the world) are doing what they can for the MG marque (and I'm quite sure MG will sell better than some localised Chinese brands for sure) what is more concerning for me is what the British government can do for British companies or investors into British companies.
In the years that I had been in business in Britain (and I have lived and studied in the UK for almost 30 yrs), all that I knew was a government that only knew how to tax and penalise innovative companies, and not help them how to thrive or save money. The way that most are having to pay such high taxes (over 50% on income) in this time of austerity is a classic example of the craziness of this bureaucracy. It MUST STOP if the UK motor industry is to succeed! Otherwise noone will want to invest there...
MG as brand I believe can and will succeed in China and the rest of the world - but its management should not be so complacent as to think 'Britishness' is its ticket to success. It's quality, style, value, practicality and relevance to the market which will help it thrive at the end, not Britishness. The past experience with managing Rover should have taught them that…
Good old Tony Blair and
Good old Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. While Obama made loans to GM and Chrysler, these fools sent a jobs task force.
The result being tens of thousands of people without jobs.
Standby for all the comments about the British car industry and waste of money. Rolls-Royce Aero Engines was bailed out by the government in the 1970s. Good job it was.
Funny how the rest of the world doesn't think that way.
Buy a Civic if you want a
Buy a Civic if you want a British built, BTCC winner....MG is a joke to our balance of payments in comparison....