Ford Motor's decision to buy the Rover brand from its German owner has dealt a blow to the global ambitions of China's biggest car maker, SAIC Motor Corp.

Last year, SAIC bought technology for the Rover 75 and Rover 25 platforms from failed British car maker MG Rover, and it had expressed interest in obtaining rights to the brand from BMW, as part of its efforts to go global.

SAIC has earmarked $1.71 billion to develop and sell its own-brand cars based partly on the Rover technology, targeting both domestic and overseas markets including Europe.

But Ford, which bought Land Rover from BMW in 2000 and had the right to buy the Rover brand name, announced it would exercise that right.

That adds uncertainty to SAIC's overseas sales plan.

SAIC's failure to obtain the Rover brand by no means dooms its overseas expansion plans. The company's Chinese joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen are performing well, and SAIC said this week that its first own-brand car would roll off the assembly line on Nov. 28.

SAIC executives could not be reached for comment but the company would "stick to its current brand strategy.

However, without a well-known brand to use, SAIC will at the very least have to work harder and spend more money on advertising and promotions to establish a name for its cars abroad.

That could slow SAIC's expansion into Europe. Company executives said in April that they would set up a sales company in Europe next year, and sell an annual 45,000 of its self-developed cars overseas by 2010.

Source:佚名