6,500 workers lost their jobs when MG went into administration in April 2005, but work on the new design began again recently and the first MG6 – itself the company’s first new model for 16 years – was driven away by Longbridge employee Lisa Ponter.,
It is reckoned that several thousand of the new cars, priced at £15,500-£19,000, will be built each year, with some manufacturing taking place in China while engines and electrics will be made at Longbridge
The event will also be marked on Thursday with a convoy of demonstration cars driving from Longbridge to the city centre, where council leaders will host a civic ceremony. Saturday also sees the annual Pride of Longbridge rally in Cofton Park, celebrating the history of the plant which at its peak employed a workforce of over 30,000.