MG Cars is a British automotive marque or brand founded by Cecile Kimber in the 1920s. Cecile Kimber worked for William Morris, who owned Morris Garages, and after tinkering with some Oxfords, began designing new models for the brand new M.G. Cars. The MG car company produced a range of sports cars but now primarily produces SUVs and a few small sedans.

Success never came easy for MG Cars, and times of darkness and hardships fell on the brand. Despite the struggles, MG Cars would overcome adversity. For over 90 years, the brand shuffled between owners. While the newest owner is a state-owned Chinese company, it has released several new models, including a line of SUVs that finally criss-cross British roads once again.

We take a look at what makes this UK car company so unique. MG Cars has a rich history worth preserving, from humble beginnings in a garage in Oxford to being owned by a multi-national super conglomerate. Take a look as we explore the story of MG Cars.

Related: These Are The Coolest MG Cars Of All Time

Founding Of The M.G. Car Company

MG Old Number One Via Wikimedia Commons:Vauxford
Via Wikimedia Commons:Vauxford

The official founding date saw some debate, though the MG website states the company was started in 1924. The brand began when Cecil Kimber designed and crafted several modified bodies for Morris cars. Kimber was a business manager who began upgrading Morris Oxfords. These Oxfords would bear a Super Sport badge, and Morris sold the modified versions out of his Garage in Oxford.

Morris would sell these cars under the MG brand until 1930. By 1930, the M.G. Car Company Limited was founded and remained Morris' company until 1935, when he transferred it to a holding company. Subsequently, Kimber would work for Morris in a greater capacity, leading the company as managing director until that 1935 sale.

Morris Garage Longwall Street Via Wikimedia Commons:Ceridwen
Via Wikimedia Commons:Ceridwen

After the sale to Morris Motors in 1935, Kimber no longer enjoyed the control he once had and was forced to answer to a central authority. As a result, internal friction ensued, and Kimber, who worked with Morris through the start of WWII, was asked to resign from the company in 1941.

The Many Owners Of MG Cars

1953 MG TD Via Wikimedia Commons:DeFacto
Via Wikimedia Commons:DeFacto

MG Cars would fall into many hands over its existence, and between 1935 and 1952, the company was under the Morris Motors Limited name. During that time, Morris Motors Limited became Morris Nuffield Organization, but that was just the beginning. The small sideline of the Morris Garages had turned into a full-fledged British marque.

In 1952, the Nuffield Organization merged with Austin Motor Company Limited to form the new company, the British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC). This partnership wouldn't last long, though, as another merger was in the company's future.

MG Emblem
Via Flickr/ Liz du Canada

The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) merged again in 1966 with Jaguar cars. The brand would be known as British Motor Holdings (BMH) for only a few years. Two years later, in 1968, BMH merged again with Leyland Motor Corporation to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC).

As a result of these many changes, the MG badge had dissolved into nothing more than that, a British marque and little ties to the M.G. Car Company Limited once used. The MGA and the MGB came in two-seater, convertible configurations.

Related: The Car That Could Have Ruled The World: The MG XPower SV

History Of MG Cars: Other Side Of British Luxury Brands

MG MGB Roadster Via Wikimedia Commons
Via Wikimedia Commons

Nationalization hit the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) in 1975, and the company became known as British Leyland (BL). The restructuring led to a division in models with Rover, Jaguar, and Triumph bulked into a special BL division focused on luxury and performance.

As a result of the division, MG Cars found itself on the outside looking in and grouped with the more consumer-minded production vehicles. During the entire 1970s, only an MGB V8 version was released, and BL paid MG Cars limited attention. While profitable, the MG brand wouldn't be the same.

MG Midget
Via: Mecum Auctions

Unfortunately, by 1980, things weren't looking too hot for MG Cars. The economy, government, and corporate mishandling forced the well-known Abingdon factory to close. MG Cars had no plans for a successor to any of their production models, and the marque slipped into obscurity.

The 1980s were a dark decade for MG Cars. Until 1991 the MG name would be no more than a name for some rather bland cars like the Metro and Maestro. Finally, in 1992 the sun began to shine again on MG Cars.

A Revival Of The MG Cars

Rover MG F - Front
Via Historics

In 1986 BL became known as the Rover Group, but MG Cars would be on the move once again in 1988. This time, British Aerospace would own the brand, and in 1992, the MG Cars badge was revived with the MG RV8, the first new vehicle by the brand in almost two decades. Production ramped up in 1993, but only in very low numbers.

British Aerospace sold MG Cars only two years after the MG RV8 entered production. BMW became the new owner in 1994, and by 1995 a new mid-engine MG F was released. The MG F proved to be more popular than the RV8, but BMW wouldn't hold onto the brand and sold it once again in 2000. The MG Rover Group owned MG Cars this time, but would go into receivership in 2005, effectively ending production.

MG Cyberster - Front Quarter
Via WSupercars

In 2005 MG Cars looked dead in the water, but the Nanjing Automotive Group purchased the rights to the brand. Yet another merger, this time with the state-owned Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation (SAIC), saw the formation of the MG Motor name.

Under Chinese ownership, MG Cars released a new vehicle, the MG 6, in 2011. It was the first new vehicle by MG Cars in 16 years and finally brought the MG brand back to the UK. As of 2022, MG Cars produces a range of cars from SUVs, Vans, and compact sedans, yet the most exciting is the teased concept car - the MG Cyberster.