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Ford Motor acquires Rover brand

By Yin Ping (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-20 09:40
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US-based Ford Motor announced yesterday that it would acquire the Rover brand from German premium carmaker BMW AG.

"We have informed BMW of our desire to exercise the right to acquire the Rover trademark," Ford said in a statement.

It is in the interests of our Land Rover business to own the Rover trademark," the statement said.

Both Land Rover and Rover were brand names of the collapsed British carmaker Rover Group.

BMW bought out Rover Group in 1994 and broke it up in 2000, selling Land Rover to Ford and transferring the Rover and MG car business to a British venture capitalist who organized the two as MG Rover Group.

BMW transferred the MG trademark to MG Rover, but retains the Rover trademark.

When Ford bought Land Rover from BMW in 2000, it acquired the first right to the Rover brand name as agreed by both parties.

The Nanjing Automotive Group Corp in Jiangsu Province took over MG Rover last year, acquiring its plant and equipment, as well as the MG trademark and MG vehicle technology.

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