The chances of car production ever returning to the historic Longbridge site have been dealt another blow as supplier StadCo has pulled out of an agreement to produce MG TF body shells for Nanjing Automotive Corporation (NAC), which owns the right to produce MG models and the Longbridge site.
NAC signalled its intent to produce the TF from 2008, having bought out what remained of MG Rover in 2005, but appears no closer to commencing production that it did three years ago.
Development work is continuing on the TF, according to NAC, but a struggle between management at NAC and newly-merged SAIC is holding up production.
Industry analysts had long feared the possibility of NAC simply asset-stripping Longbridge and MG Rover and producing badged cars in China - a fear that has been repeated over the Jaguar-Land Rover sale to Tata Motors - though NAC says it is committed to restarting production at Longbridge.
A government inquiry into the collapse of MG Rover has been criticised for taking too long and spending ten million pounds of taxpayer's money.