THE FUTURE of Britain's last major motor manufacturer - MG Rover - was secured last night when bosses announced a deal with a Chinese firm.
The move paves the way for a new range of small and medium-sized cars to replace the aging 25 and 45 series.
MG Rover, famously bought for £10 from BMW, two years ago, had been looking for a major international partner for months.
The alliance with China Brilliance Industrial Holdings - one of China's biggest conglomerates - holds out the possibility of Rover cars being made for sale in the world's fastest growing market.
Work is well advanced on a medium-sized car. Now MG Rover engineers can press ahead with the smaller model UK dealers have been calling for since the plug was pulled on the Metro supermini.
The deal safeguards thousands of UK jobs including hundreds in the North-East where some of MG Rover's biggest component suppliers are based.
Kevin Howe, MG Rover chief executive, said: "This is a wide-ranging global alliance that spans the full breadth of both company's activities, and presents many opportunities."
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