SAIC appoints new chairman

The state-owned automaker said Chen will succeed 63-year-old Hu Maoyuan Hu Maoyuan, who retired recently after 15 years as SAIC's chairman.

Vice president Chen Zhixin, who heads SAIC's passenger car operation, has been promoted to become SAIC's president, according to an announcement the Shanghai Communist Party Committee published on its web site.

Top officials of state-owned companies are all appointed by China's ruling Communist Party.

The shuffle follows the opening of a dedicated new MG plant in Thailand, where the MG3 enters production next month. The company said in its 2013 annual report that its main tasks in 2014 include further development of its own brands, improving its R&D capabilities and accelerating its core competitiveness.

Availability hampered

MG South Africa plans to launch the successful MG3 in the second half of this year. The availability of this new super-mini has been hampered by massive UK demand, but South Africa will now receive cars from the new plant which opened in Thailand last month.

Last year, SAIC sold 4.7 million vehicles through its joint ventures with Volkswagen and GM. SAIC Motor achieved record global sales last year of over 5.1 million units - the first Chinese automotive manufacturer to exceed five million units in a year.

Of these, 230,000 of this extraordinary end of year figure can be attributed to sales of the MG and Roewe marques worldwide, including MG South Africa. Roewe is SAIC's in-house brand, based on MG technology.

Despite being manufactured in Asia for the last five years, Maxus commercial vehicles and MG still retain their British design and technology. Maxus vehicles have been proven the most reliable in the UK for the last four years, regularly outperforming the likes of IVECO, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Nissan and Toyota, to name but a few, while the new MG3 has become the biggest MG success in history in less than a year after launch.

Maxus and MG are locally distributed, sold and serviced by Mandarin Motors under the banner of Combined Motor Holdings (CMH), a South African motor retailer group listed on the JSE. Maxus and MG will soon have 15 dealers throughout South Africa, with additional service outlets in remote areas.