Reports are circulating in the Israeli media of the MG TF sports car and the MG 550 sedan being lined up for a demonstration / Auto Show in the first quater of the year with plans for them to go on sale in the third or fourth quaters.

As in Chile, the MG brand is taking the lead.


Reference: http://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/20090215/18472674748.shtml

"The first two MG cars of Chinese carmaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SSE: 600104) (SAIC) have arrived in Israel.

SAIC acquired British carmaker MG Rover in 2005. The cars are for display, technical training, and market testing by SAIC and Peugeot Citroen importer David Lubinski Ltd. One of the cars is the two-seater MGT-F sports car and the other is the MG 550 sedan.

The cars do not yet fully comply with EU-4 or EU-5 emissions standards, so they will probably only be displayed passively, without an Israeli license for travel. European standard-compliant MG cars, which will receive Israeli licenses, are due to arrive in the third or fourth quarter of the year."

http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000425220&fid=1725

Well, I would admit I fancied Israeli premiership candidate Tzipi Livni



were it not for the fact that she is on record as saying she coldly seduces men for their secrets.

Mind you, you can't do much with the secret of "how the aardvark learnt to skateboard"...

What effect does this have on MG in Arab states, I wonder?

Importer Lubinski introduces Chinese SAIC cars

"The introduction of a Chinese car into the Israeli market is a significant milestone in the development of the country's automotive sector."

Dubi Ben-Gedalyahu 17 Mar 09 16:41

Peugeot Citroen importer David Lubinski today launched the Chinese Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SSE: 600104) (SAIC) vehicle brand in Israel.

The company plans to begin marketing the cars in the first quarter of 2010, after all the required regulatory procedures have been completed. There are now agreements for the representation in Israel of all the major Chinese vehicle brands but SAIC will be the first to be marketed.

In the first stage Lubinski will market SAIC's executive car MG550, which has the highest standard of finish. The car is based on technology of British carmaker MG Rover, which SAIC acquired in 2005.

Lubinski CEO Dori Manor said at the launch, "The introduction of a Chinese car into the Israeli market is a significant milestone in the development of the country's automotive sector. The world is changing and we are seeing new markets and manufacturers developing at a rapid rate spearheaded by China."

Reference: http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/DocView.asp?did=1000435116&fid=1725

Windy wrote:Importer Lubinski introduces Chinese SAIC cars

"...In the first stage Lubinski will market SAIC's executive car MG550, which has the highest standard of finish. The car is based on technology of British carmaker MG Rover, which SAIC acquired in 2005 ...

so it's a Chile wind that doesn't blow the Rong-Wei?

The Chinese automobile entered Israel officially

According to the Ministry of Commerce Web site reported recently, the Israeli Ministry of Transport and road safety, official documents of approval issued to allow Israel to the East car sales company (EAM) Great Wall of China Import and sales of vehicles.

Prior to this, the Israeli Transport Ministry has approved David Rubinstein of Israel's leading car company Shanghai Automotive Group Company imports products Roewe sedans. According to reports, the car companies will be formally launched in October this year to enter the Israeli market, for local consumption are full of expectations.

Source: http://www.wabei.cn/news/201007/409374.html

Windy wrote:

The Chinese automobile entered Israel officially

According to the Ministry of Commerce Web site reported recently, the Israeli Ministry of Transport and road safety, official documents of approval issued to allow Israel to the East car sales company (EAM) Great Wall of China Import and sales of vehicles.

Prior to this, the Israeli Transport Ministry has approved David Rubinstein of Israel's leading car company Shanghai Automotive Group Company imports products Roewe sedans. According to reports, the car companies will be formally launched in October this year to enter the Israeli market, for local consumption are full of expectations.

Source: http://www.wabei.cn/news/201007/409374.html

The (Lubinski) company plans to begin marketing the cars in the first quarter of 2010, after all the required regulatory procedures have been completed.

Does the new quote refer only to a new importer alongside the Roewe/MG importer or have the MGs been delayed? Is "David Rubinstein" from the same company as "David Lubinski"?

patpending wrote:
Does the new quote refer only to a new importer alongside the Roewe/MG importer or have the MGs been delayed? Is "David Rubinstein" from the same company as "David Lubinski"?

I think it is the same person, I bet no one in China can pronounce his name though!

This isn't so easy to read, but it mentions the MG350...

http://www.bokra.net/article.aspx?id=970590

Windy wrote:

patpending wrote:
Does the new quote refer only to a new importer alongside the Roewe/MG importer or have the MGs been delayed? Is "David Rubinstein" from the same company as "David Lubinski"?

I think it is the same person, I bet no one in China can pronounce his name though!

@ I hadn't even thought of that and I was only saying to Dr. Dave that the spelling of "London" and "Rover" starts off the same on Japanese!

In the wake of the 17% drop in the shekel-euro exchange rate since the neginning of the year, Peugeot-Citroen importer David Lubinski Ltd. has slashed prices for a range of models to reflect the prevailing exchange rate...

http://www.allvoices.com/news/5900383/s/56146279-peugeot-importer-cuts-prices-as-euro-weakens

Windy wrote:This isn't so easy to read, but it mentions the MG350...

http://www.bokra.net/article.aspx?id=970590

Company will "to further enhancing the", and under the name "Kar East", the marketing of cars from SAIC model MG550 revealed by nearly a year before. The
company opened the first showroom during next September in Tel Aviv.

about a year from today, will arrive in the country's other two models of cars SAIC, two MG350 family, and MG6 sports.

أ

The company "East", which imports the brand of English "Land Raufer" Since many years, I have decided to start three months after the marketing of car company "Jrait Wall" of China.

First mention of MG350 I have seen. That is Arabic. (Google told me). Don't know which Arab country it is*, but they like football and drive Škodas! (also looks like they agree with Paul the Octopus!)

*ISRAEL! didn't expect that!

The bokra.net Server is powered by Microsoft-IIS/7.0 webserver software and is located in Israel (Hefa).

http://www.websitetrafficspy.com/bokra.net

patpending wrote:*ISRAEL! didn't expect that!

Now you understand why having translated to chinese and then to english, the results may not be consistent

Breaking News - They have arrived

China's auto market officially unveiled in Israel

On September 27th, the famous automobile import business Israel Oriental Motor Company (David Lubinsky Group) recieved the first batch of 160 Chinese imports by the Shanghai Automotive Company. Produced the MG 550 sedan arrived in Israel in the southern port city of Eilat, Israel, China's consumer long-awaited car has officially entered the Israeli market.

Oriental Motor Co. Rubinski from 10 markets in Israel, the official month of sales of the MG 550 sedan, priced at 14.5 million shekels (about $39,400, tax included), with the same configuration as compared to other brand cars, slightly cheaper.

Currently, the Israeli consumers are generally optimistic about the Chinese car, the Israeli business major vehicle importers are confident in China's car, and China have signed a major automobile manufacturing companies of various forms of cooperation agreements. Since most Chinese-made cars emission standards have not yet reached the Israeli domestic requirements, had been unable to enter the Israeli market in large quantities. The SAIC MG sedan officially entered Israel, marked the car into the start of another high-end market.

Source: http://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/20100928/18168720414.shtml

Lots of inexact information. "Oriental company" used to distribute in Israel the Rover and it still distributes the Land Rover. Lubinsky is the distributer of Peugeout. MG550 fits only Euro4 pollution standard and its import was allowed after appeals to the courts and political pressure of the Chinese side in a limited number of exemplares (160), probably not selled to the public, but to the leasing company owened by Lubinsky. Anyways, the reviews in the press were extremally negative (big step to the Chinese car industry small step to mankind) and it has been postulated that the car is pretty overpriced (145,000 NIS, not millions ).

Israeli wrote:
Lots of inexact information. "Oriental company" used to distribute in Israel the Rover and it still distributes the Land Rover. Lubinsky is the distributer of Peugeout. MG550 fits only Euro4 pollution standard and its import was allowed after appeals to the courts and political pressure of the Chinese side in a limited number of exemplares (160), probably not selled to the public, but to the leasing company owened by Lubinsky. Anyways, the reviews in the press were extremally negative (big step to the Chinese car industry small step to mankind) and it has been postulated that the car is pretty overpriced (145,000 NIS, not millions ).

Thanks Israeli. Why not join the site and stick around to add what you know? we'd be interested...

Israeli wrote:
MG550 fits only Euro4 pollution standard and its import was allowed after appeals to the courts and political pressure of the Chinese side in a limited number of exemplares (160)

Maybe you will be getting the European version next year

Windy wrote:

Israeli wrote:
MG550 fits only Euro4 pollution standard and its import was allowed after appeals to the courts and political pressure of the Chinese side in a limited number of exemplares (160)

Maybe you will be getting the European version next year

how does this affect Belarus, Chile and the other countries? have they not yet introduced the Euro 5 equivalent? or is it allowed because it was launched before Euro 5 came in?

patpending wrote:how does this affect Belarus, Chile and the other countries? have they not yet introduced the Euro 5 equivalent? or is it allowed because it was launched before Euro 5 came in?

I wonder if Belarus has any pollution standards?

Most countries, including China, are a step or two behind Europe so it's not an issue. China will soon need Euro 5 anyway so they will probably all get an upgrade, although it does add some cost. If Israel is keeping up with Europe then it makes sense for it to get the European cars.

I will try to register later. Anyways, the Israeli car market is one of the most challenging and sophisticated one. We have the largest variety of brands in the west. Virtually there is no brand which is not distributed here. The taxation here is very high. The basic tax is 89%. Then comes 16.5% VAT. However there is tax discount for the so called "green" cars. All the cars are classified into 15 pollution groups. The group nr 1 is the electric non-polluting cars such as Mitsubishi I-Miev and have only 10% duty + VAT. Group nr 2 is the hybrid cars with the emission less than 116 (Toyota Prius and Hondas IMA; currently I keep Civic Hybrid). Their duty is 30% + VAT. The 3rd group is several super-mini such as Fiat 500. They have 15,000 NIS tax discount which means about 40% of duty before VAT. Small family cars usually belong to 5-8 groups which tax discounts of 5000-2000 NIS. Middle size family cars typically belong to 10-15 groups with negligible tax discount if any. So the tax rate here is very high. Nevertheless the prices are not high as one could expect because of the extremely high competition and low FOB prices.

About 60% of new cars in Israel are owned by leasing companies. In the segment of small family cars it is about 80%. Leasing companies buy cars with huge discounts of 20-30%. Workers get leasing from their jobs and pay the tax of 2.5% of their initial price each month. It creates a certain driving culture, i. e. the drivers do not care about the cars (as we say Mazda 3 is the best jeep). After 2-3 years leased cars are sold to the public crazily overpriced. So often the 2 y o totally destroyed "best jeep" can cost to the customer more than the new one to the leasing company. Leasing companies prefer Mazda and Hyundai because those brands provide them the best discounts. So Mazda 3 is the undoubted queen of the Israeli roads. Thanks to the leasing companies and their political weight its residual values are phenomenal. The 5 y o Mazda 3 can be more expensive than BMW 7th series of the same age.

I am trying to use this situation and buy brands unpopular in leasing. In such cases the discounts can be given to private customers as well. For example I v got a 15% discount for my civic hybrid. However its residual value is still cannot be compared to Mazda or Hyundai. And the used European cars unwanted in leasing lose price stratospherically. Such was the case of Rover 75. As new its price was equal to 3 mazdas but after 2 years it was about a half of Mazda. So used Rover 75 was one of my previous cars (it felt as hero being beated from behind by some stupid leasing driver) and I miss it a lot. I wish rovers return, but unfortunately MG550 is not the case.

Israeli wrote:However there is tax discount for the so called "green" cars...

I think it will be a few years before the MG550 hybrid reaches Israel. They are working hard on development though and if there is a good market for it then maybe you will get priority.

My impression of that car(just sharing).
The price for the new MG 550 in Israel is about 40000 US dollars, this price is ridiculous for that car.
In Israel you can buy a subaru legacy or a honda accord or skoda superb or many other cars of that class for that kind of money.
I've test drove the new MG 550 couple of days ago and despite the fact that it looks great and all the leather and sophisticated electronics ,it feels cheap and drives accordingly. The engine is very noisy and there is practically no noise isolation in the cabin. Yes, it's pretty fast, but the steering wheel and the gearbox are horrible, the steering wheel is too light, gearbox has weird ratios and the breaks reminded me of a subaru I had in the 80's that just wouldn't stop.
Oh, and the suspension is also not on par with the modern technology.
Bottom line is that this car is nowhere near the modern cars of today, even the cheap ones and nowhere near the rover 75 2001 I had.
This car maker "SAIC" has a long way to go before this car can be called a modern car or just a good car at least not for this price.
I was expecting a much lower price.

thanks to Israeli and Mike for their feedback!

I doubt if you could buy a new Honda Accord with 40,000 $ in Israel. About 7,000-10,000$ should be added (the same is about SuberB). However Legacy has here a really good price, almost like in Europe thanks to low FOB prices traditionally provided by Subaru to the local dealer. Real treasures can be found in certain Fiat dealerships. For example Lancia Delta after some negotiation comes here even cheaper than in Europe, which seems fantastic considering the 100% tax rate.

Anyways, Rover 75 1800 petrol was a great car, reliable, surrounding friendly and not that expensive in maintanance as many believe. I think if SIAC were selling the that 75th as is for 40,000$ it could be a much better deal.

Israeli wrote:I think if SAIC were selling the that 75th as is for 40,000$ it could be a much better deal.

The SAIC version of the 75 is the Roewe 750 which is on sale as MG750 in Chile, Belarus etc. It's more expensive!

patpending wrote:

Israeli wrote:I think if SAIC were selling the that 75th as is for 40,000$ it could be a much better deal.

The SAIC version of the 75 is the Roewe 750 which is on sale as MG750 in Chile, Belarus etc. It's more expensive!

It's also bigger than the Rover 750, 100mm longer.


Mike says "there is practically no noise isolation in the cabin", and yet the ones we have seen in the UK appear to have very good "noise isolation". I wonder if there is actually a big difference between the various versions, or is it just that the ones seen in the UK are all enhanced demo versions?

Israeli, you are correct about Honda accord and Superb pricing, however the approximate difference is between 4000$ to 8000$ dollars(skoda suberb- 43000$), which considered to be the same category and it's not a very big difference if it's 40000$,43000$ or 48000$ comparing to what you get.

To Windy,
Concerning the noise isolation, you can barely hear yourself beyond 4000 RPM. You might consider that a good noise isolation ,but most of the modern cars I've drove were not that noisy, specially in that category.
Maybe the demo cars they have are a little different from the actual product, but I doubt that.

Mike wrote:Israeli, you are correct about Honda accord and Superb pricing, however the approximate difference is between 4000$ to 8000$ dollars(skoda suberb- 43000$), which considered to be the same category and it's not a very big difference if it's 40000$,43000$ or 48000$ comparing to what you get.

To Windy,
Concerning the noise isolation, you can barely hear yourself beyond 4000 RPM. You might consider that a good noise isolation ,but most of the modern cars I've drove were not that noisy, specially in that category.
Maybe the demo cars they have are a little different from the actual product, but I doubt that.

Good job we are not getting your versions then, Autocar magazine tested a UK pre production model of the MG6 (basically a MG550) and they said its best in class to drive. I looked at the UK spec MG6 last weekend at its launch show and I was impressed with the quality and the price.

http://www.mguk.org/uk-news-f1/mg6-zero-mph-t387.htm#3103
Here's my review of it.

I've driven the 6 on two occasions, gently round Longbridge with Guy Jones sat next to me, and as fast as I could up Goodwood hill. I felt if anything, the 6 was too quiet. It missed the rasp of my old ZS. I've driven an awful lot of cars this year ranging from an Audi R8 Spyder, all the way through to a 1959 Ghostbusters Miller Meteor Cadillac Ambulance, and thought the the 6 was a great car, well built and suitably hushed.

According to a pictures in your post MG6 is not a MG550, it looks completely different, except the dashboard that looks similar to the one in MG550. So, you are probably right about different versions, as usual we are getting all the crap.