Ayala in talks to bring in MG car brand

MANILA, Philippines - The Ayala Group is in talks with China’s largest vehicle manufacturer to bring the MG automotive brand to the Philippines.

The move is seen to further beef up the conglomerate’s presence in the local automotive industry as the MG brand will add to its existing car dealership businesses on top of the Volkswagen, Honda and Isuzu brands.

A source told The STAR that Ayala has been negotiating for a few months with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), owner of the MG brand.

MG is considered a historic British brand as it was the last domestically owned mass-production car manufacturer in the UK motor industry.

SAIC took ownership control of MG in 2007 after merging with Nanjing Automobile which bought the assets of MG Rover as the British brand went bankrupt in 2005.

At present, MG cars are sold in the UK and China, but units are built exclusively in China after SAIC closed its factory in Longbridge, England last year.

The Ayala Group, meanwhile, last March consolidated its industrial operations and automotive business under AC Industrial Technology Holdings Inc.

AC Industrial serves as the official importer and distributor of Volkswagen in the country while also holding distributorship stakes in Honda Cars Philippines Inc. and Isuzu Philippines Corp.

Last year, it also signed a deal with Austria-based KTM AG for the distribution and production of KTM motorcycles in the country.

KTM Asia Motorcycle Manufacturing Inc., the joint venture company, has been approved as a participant under the country’s motor vehicle development program with a P290.6 million investment in assembly operations and parts manufacturing.

The project is expected to produce four motorcycle models with an initial yearly capacity of 10,000 units and expandable up to 20,000 units annually when fully operational.

KTM Asia targets to sell around 3,000 to 5,000 units yearly for the domestic market while the rest is for export to China, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.