SAIC to consider phasing out brands due to sales slump in all new Marques.

SAIC Motor Corp. runs successful joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen AG, but its own brands are losing ground.

The state-owned automaker is making huge investments to improve products and revive its car business. But if it wants to ensure that the money is well spent, the company should reduce the number of its car brands.

In 2005, SAIC bought the Rover 75 platform from bankrupt MG Rover. It soon started developing sedans on that platform under the newly created Roewe brand.

Two years later, it acquired Nanjing Automobile Group Co., another state-owned automaker that had purchased the MG brand and the Rover 25 platform from the British carmaker.

SAIC President Chen Zhixin assured the press at the time that the Roewe and MG brands would start generating profits after combined sales reached 260,000 vehicles.

But after the two brands topped 230,000 sales in 2013, deliveries began to decline. In 2014, sales of Roewe and MG cars slumped 22 percent to 180,018 vehicles.

Not content with two brands, SAIC launched a third: Maxus. In 2013, a van and a multipurpose vehicle were introduced under the new brand.

The two models were based on a platform that SAIC had purchased in 2009 from LDV Group, a bankrupt British producer of commercial vans. China's car buyers have been unimpressed. Last year, Maxus generated sales of only 21,012 vehicles.

The Roewe and MG brands continue to fade, with combined China sales down 37 percent in the first two months of 2015 to 21,039 vehicles. And Maxus continues to struggle, with only 4,179 deliveries year to date.

What went wrong? Saddled with weak product development, SAIC must rely on obsolete MG Rover platforms. And that's why Roewe, MG and Maxus are not competitive.

To be sure, SAIC operates technical centers in China and England to enhance its products. The company is improving its powertrains and is developing a platform dubbed the A architecture.

Starting next year, future Roewe and MG compact sedans will be built on the new platform. But this alone is not enough to fix SAIC's problems; the company must also pare its multiple brands.

SAIC is a newcomer in a sedan market dominated by global giants such as VW and GM. It lacks the technology and product development needed to support three passenger vehicle brands.

In recent years, Chery Automobile Co., Great Wall Motor Co. and Geely Automobile Holdings all phased out multiple brands so that they could sell vehicles under one brand.

Those moves produced the desired results, and each company has begun to rebuild sales. Now it is time for SAIC to follow suit.

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MG Parent company moves back into Fortune 500 top 100 companies, beating Disney, Coke and Sony.

• MG Motor parent company, SAIC Motor placed 85^th in Global Fortune 500
• SAIC’s 2013 yearly sales revenue total of $92 billion
• MG Motor UK fastest growing automotive brand in the UK for seventh month running
• News announced as MG celebrates its 90^th anniversary and rapid expansion of retailer network in the UK

MG parent company, SAIC Motor, has entered the Global Fortune top 100 with the company’s tenth appearance in the annual Fortune 500 list, moving up 18 places from last year’s result to reach 85^th position, with 2013 yearly sales revenues of $92 billion.

The US based Fortune publication announced this year’s Global Fortune 500, with US giant Wal- Mart retaining the number one spot. SAIC’s 85^th position, saw the Chinese national placed ahead of many well known brands such as Microsoft (104^th), Sony (105^th), Amazon.com (112^th), Google (162^nd), Coca- Cola (224^th) and Walt Disney (232^nd).

SAIC Motor is the market leader for sales in China, last year achieving record global manufacturing and sales of over 5.1 million units, an increase of 13.71% on 2012 sales and the first Chinese automotive manufacturer to exceed five million units in a year. 230,000 units of this extraordinary end of year figure can be attributed to global sales of the MG and Roewe marques.

SAIC Motor continues to grow as a leader in independent technology innovation, with recently announced new powertrain developments and the industrialisation of new energies, as well as the launch of the first manufacturer-owned O2O commerce platform. SAIC has sought to strengthen overseas operation and expand distributions in developing markets like ASEAN, Middle East, South America, specifically with the opening of a SAIC manufacturing facility in Thailand this year, enabling the company to expand into South East Asia, with production capacity expected to be around 50,000 vehicles a year.

2014 celebrates the 90^th anniversary of the MG marque and the most successful year to date for MG Motor UK. Last month, MG announced that the Birmingham based manufacturer had exceeded 2013 total sales in just the first five months 2014. This exceptional growth is set to continue as SMMT figures for June show a 791 per cent month on month, and a phenomenal 833 per cent year to date increase.

The success of the iconic marque has been due to the September 2013 launch of the MG3 supermini and expansion of the MG6 diesel powertrain family, with a new 129g, 350 Nm performance diesel recently added.

The MG3 supermini is fun to buy, fun to drive and fun to own with over one million personalisation options, class leading chassis and driving dynamics, and exceptional value for money aftercare packages. The successful supermini is priced from only £8,399 to £9,999, or on PCP from only £99 a month or from zero deposits. The MG3 benefits from an ultra low 4E insurance group, strong residuals of up to 61 per cent, class leading interior and boot space, and high levels of equipment on all specifications as standard, as well as complete peace of mind with the three years fixed servicing package MG CARE3, the ultimate in carefree ownership.

Voted by customers as the winner of Best Handling and sixth overall Best Car to Own in the 2014 Auto Express Driver Power Awards, the MG6 is already a favourite with MG owners for its drivability, affordability and exceptionally high levels of equipment included as standard. Now the MG6 is even more appealing as all specifications are available from just £15,455 to £19,995, and with the current ‘High 5’ offer, MG6 customers can buy and drive away with complete peace of mind. With servicing, warranty and breakdown cover free for five years, as well as fuel subsidies and affordable finance deals.

Since the launch of the MG3, MG has become the fastest growing automotive brand in the UK with 50 retailers in total, 22 of which opened in 2014 including; Havant, Torquay, south Sheffield, Dudley, Gloucester, north Sheffield, Woking, Spalding, Barnes in West London, Newcastle, Leicester, Harrogate, Doncaster, Northampton, Swindon, Norwich, Falmouth, Brecon, Maidstone, Wareham on the Purbeck peninsula, Oxfordshire and Exeter.