MG7 Returns

Hands up who remembers the MG7? Created by MG’s initial Chinese owner NAC in 2006 in the wake of the acquisition of most of the Longbridge production lines for the Rover 75 and related MG ZT, the Chinese market model was a modern offering for customers albeit one without the bigger sales and marketing clout of SAIC, yet to take over responsibility for the MG marque.

In tandem, SAIC’s then new Roewe brand made and sold the Roewe 750 – which looked almost the same as the MG7 (albeit using changes originally planned for the MG ZT and Rover 75) and confusingly was sold in Egypt, of all places, as the MG 750. The MG7 of that generation is now history, however, and in heritage-obsessed China, ‘history’ can be oh so important. Hence the forthcoming new generation MG7, a bigger car but similar in philosophy to the MG6, has been teased in Chinese marketing videos along with the aforementioned ‘classic’ MG7 of 2006. Although SAIC has hinted at European sales for this upmarket, larger saloon, our friends at MG Motor UK reiterate the marketing view that the case for a larger saloon beneath the familiar Mercedes, Audi and BMW ‘premium’ sectors, is a thin one and so we would not place any bets on the MG7 coming to European showrooms. Other world markets may be a different equation, however — never say never.

A new upmarket saloon is coming for China later this year – the MG7 – but UK sales seem unlikely. The teaser images released so far include this black MG badge — said to be destined for sportier MGs in future