Nanjing auto to assemble cars in Oklahoma

DETROIT, July 12 (Reuters) China's Nanjing Automobile Group, which took control of Britain's collapsed MG Rover last year, plans to build MG-brand cars in Oklahoma, state officials said on Wednesday.

Nanjing could be the first Chinese automaker to assemble cars in the United States.

The company plans to locate its headquarters in Oklahoma City with assembly and distribution in Ardmore. Research and development will be in Norman at the University of Oklahoma.

Nanjing Automobile is one of several Chinese car makers, including Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. and Chery Automotive Co., hoping to crack the global car market amid a slowdown in demand at home.

It has a small joint venture in China with Italy's Fiat , but has struggled to make headway against bigger rivals that tied up with top brands General Motors Corp. and Volkswagen AG. .

The company, called MG Motors of North America, will create more than 500 jobs in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce said.

''We looked at a lot of different locations around the country, but none could equal the overall appeal of Oklahoma,'' Duke Hale, chief executive of the new company, said in a statement. ''Oklahoma also provides an ideal geographic location to support our distribution efforts for the North American market and for exporting products abroad.'' Nanjing Automobile, one of China's oldest auto makers, surprised the motoring world when it outbid top Chinese car maker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. to buy MG Rover out of bankruptcy for million (53 million pounds) in mid-2005.

Earlier this year, it took a 33-year lease on the former MG Rover plant at Longbridge in central England and said it still hoped to revive production at the site.

REUTERS DKS HS2017