MG Rover Group - the last major British-owned car manufacturer - succumbed to its mounting debts last month and filed for a form of bankruptcy protection after a deal with a Chinese automaker fell through and a government loan was not granted.

Phoenix Venture Holdings, the parent company of Rover, said it had asked PricewaterhouseCoopers to take over administration of the company after it was forced to suspend production when suppliers - spooked by reports that Shanghai Automotive Industrial Company was pulling out of a takeover deal - stopped providing goods.
The potential loss of 6,000 jobs at Rover and up to 15,000 at component makers in Britains’ West Midlands is an embarrassment for Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government as it seeks re-election on its economic credentials.
“We will do whatever we can possibly do to safeguard the livelihoods and jobs of the people here,” said Blair, who met trade union officials and Longbridge workers in Birmingham.
The 100-year-old car maker, which once made the iconic Mini and the Land Rover, had hoped China’s Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) would step in and invest in the company, allowing it to continue production.
But SAIC, worried about Rover’s financial position — particularly with regard to pension and possible redundancy liabilities — pulled out after weeks of tense talks in Shanghai.
UK Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt, who held talks with workers at Longbridge, announced a £40 million ($75 million) support package for Rover’s suppliers, based throughout the region.
A spokesman for SAIC quoted by the UK’s Press Association said: “The requirement from SAIC was that MG Rover was demonstrated to be solvent at the point of signing a deal and for two years thereafter.
“They have not been able to demonstrate that and therefore we are unable to negotiate a deal.”
Tony Murphy, Amicus national officer for the automotive industry, said: “Yet again I’m having to write an obituary for another stalwart of the British engineering and manufacturing industry.
“The loss of MG Rover is devastating news for the UK car industry and for the West Midlands coming after the loss of the Jaguar Browns Lane plant and losses announced at the Peugeot Ryton plant last month.”
Britain’s last mass automaker had issued a plea to Tony Blair’s government to “make a decision” on a £100 million ($188 million) bridging loan it wanted to help complete negotiations with SAIC.
Production had already been suspended at MG Rover’s Longbridge factory.
SAIC’s proposed acquisition of MG Rover would have required approval from the Shanghai city government, SAIC’s controlling shareholder, and the National Development and Reform Commission, a cabinet-level agency in charge of economic policy.
Announcing the proposed deal in November, MG Rover spokesman Stewart McKee declined to discuss details but said the deal would involve manufacturing, the joint development of products and the opportunity to build cars in both markets.