Roewe

Roewe is a vehicle marque created by the Chinese automaker SAIC Motor in 2006, which focuses on luxury cars. Roewe vehicles were initially based on technology acquired from defunct British carmaker MG Rover.[1] SAIC was unable to purchase the rights to the Rover brand name (which was retained by BMW, subsequently sold to Ford and ultimately returned to Jaguar Land Rover) and created the Roewe marque as a replacement.[2] It is sold in most export markets outside China under the MG marque.

Roewe 荣威
IndustryAutomotive
Founded2006
Headquarters
Shanghai
,
China
ProductsAutomobiles
ParentSAIC Motor
Websitewww.roewe.com.cn (Mainland China)
www.roewe.com.hk (Hong Kong)
www.roewe.com.mo (Macau)
Roewe
Simplified Chinese荣威
Traditional Chinese榮威

Name

The name Roewe originates from SAIC's failure to acquire the Rover brand name from BMW c. 2005 (it was instead sold to Ford in 2006,[3] and the brand is currently owned by Jaguar Land Rover). Composed of the Chinese characters Róng and wēi, which roughly mean "glorious power", the name is a transliteration of Rover, although SAIC has stated that it is derived from Löwe, the German word for lion.[4]

History

SAIC purchased technology relating to the Rover 75 and Rover 25 after the 2005 collapse of MG Rover, and the Roewe marque first appeared on a version of the 75, the Roewe 750. Originally intending to purchase all assets of the failed British company, SAIC was outbid by Nanjing Automobile.[3] In 2007, SAIC merged with Nanjing Auto, so it now controls those MG Rover properties, such as the MG name and a Birmingham factory, the Longbridge plant, that it was initially unable to acquire.[5]

English engineering firm Ricardo assisted the development of early Roewe models and set up a new company in the UK, Ricardo (2010) Consultants Ltd, which helped bring the 750 to market.[2] According to SAIC, work on the vehicle was also done in China.[6] In 2007, Ricardo (2010) Consultants was purchased by SAIC and renamed SAIC Motor UK Technical Centre.[7] It employs over 200 British ex-Rover engineers.[8]

The Roewe brand unveiled the Roewe Vision-R electric concept car at the 2015 Guangzhou Auto Show in China that and previews a new generation of the Roewe design language for the Chinese brand, featuring sharp creases and a full width grille that evolved from the previous Roewe shield grille. The new design theme was applied to products launched shortly after such as the Roewe i5, i6, RX3, RX5, RX7, RX8, and Marvel X, as well as facelifts of the Roewe 950 and Roewe 360 Plus.[9]

Products

Current models

Former models

Concepts
Roewe Vision-R concept fron
  • Roewe N1 Concept
  • Roewe E1 Concept
  • Roewe Vision-R
  • Roewe Vision-E
  • Roewe Vision-i
  • Roewe Vision-iM
  • Roewe Max Concept
  • Roewe R-Aura
  • Roewe iM8 Concept
  • Roewe Whale Concept

Sales

A total of 155,336 Roewe vehicles were sold in China in 2013, making it the 29th largest-selling car brand in the country in that year (and the 13th largest-selling Chinese brand).[10]

Exports

Outside of China, Roewe-derived models are currently sold under the MG marque.[11]

In 2008, the Roewe 550 and 750 were launched in Chile under the names MG 550 and MG 750, respectively.[12] The smaller MG 350 and sporty MG 6 were displayed at the eleventh Santiago Motor Show in October 2010.[13]

European sales first began in Belarus, with an MG-badged version of the 550.[14] British car magazine Autocar tested the Roewe 350 in 2010 suggesting that the model would be built and sold in the UK, but Roewe denied this.[15] Nonetheless, as of April 2011 SAIC's MG6 (a reworked Roewe 550) commenced assembly at the old MG Rover plant in Longbridge. The European market cars feature certain improvements over its Chinese siblings, meeting Euro V rather than Euro IV emissions standards.[16]

References
  1. "Rover becomes 'Roewe'". The Daily Telegraph. 13 October 2006. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007.
  2. Adams, Keith (19 September 2008). "Roewe 750". AROnline. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  3. China debut for Rover-based car bbc.co.uk, Monday, 20 November 2006, 20:41 GMT
  4. Fairclough, Gordon (13 October 2006). "Over With Rover, China Firm Calls Car Line 'Roewe'". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  5. REFILE-UPDATE 2-SAIC to make MG 6 in UK, upbeat on own-brand car reuters.com, Wed 25 November 2009 5:04 am EST
  6. SAIC Motor Technical Center SAIC Official Site
  7. 70. Business Combinations C. The Group as the acquirer... SAIC Motor Annual Report 2008, page 165
  8. Implement the Scientific Development Philosophy and Fulfill Corporate Social Responsibilities: Independent innovation, sustainable development of enterprise SAIC Official Site
  9. "Electric Roewe Vision-R Concept Debuts".
  10. "2013 Passenger Vehicle Sales by Brand". China Auto Web. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  11. SAIC expands MG line-up in Europe bbc.co.uk, 12:38 GMT, Wednesday, 24 March 2010
  12. "MG: Morris Garages". MG Motors Chile (in Spanish). SKBergé Automotriz. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  13. "Noticias: MG en el XI Salón del Automóvil" [News: MG at the 11th Motor Show]. MG Motors Chile (in Spanish). SKBergé Automotriz. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  14. Sloman, Adam (16 February 2010). "Roewe 550: the story so far". AROnline. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  15. "24 March 2010". BBC News. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  16. SAIC launches new MG car in UK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China, 2011/04/13
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