BEIJING: Nanjing Auto will begin selling the first Chinese-made MG cars next month, the company said in a statement on its Web site, although there was no word on possible exports.

The MG-7, Nanjing's version of the Rover 75, will carry a sticker price of 171,600 yuan (US$22,578;¬16,633) for a basic 1.8 liter turbo version, all the way up to 302,800 yuan (US$39,842;¬29,352) for a top-of-the-line 2.5 liter V6.

The starting price is significantly below that of the Roewe 750, a rival version of the Rover 75 produced by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation.

Nanjing Auto, China's oldest car maker, bought bankrupt British automaker MG Rover in 2005. It inaugurated a US$362 million (¬267 million) MG production line in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing in March and has since started production the MG TF sports car and other brand-new models at MG Rover's former Longbridge plant in the British Midlands.

The TF should go on sale in September or October.

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Nanjing's parent company, Yuejin Motor Group, has an annual production capacity of 180,000 vehicles from sedans to armored cars, along with joint manufacturing ventures with Italy's Fiat and its commercial vehicle unit Iveco.

So far, Yuejin's exports have focused on developing regions such as Africa and South America, although Italy and Spain have also been targeted.