Shanghai Automotive Industry Group Corp. (SAIC) said over the weekend that it had not made a final decision on whether to produce the Rover 75 and 25 sedans, for which it acquired intellectual rights.

"At the moment no definitive decision on what to do with those two assets has been made. SAIC is assessing all possible options available to it," said Rupert Pittman, SAIC's spokesman in London.

Last week, the Beijing Times reported that SAIC planned to mass produce two MG Rover Group models, the Rover 75 and 25, in China from 2006.

MG Rover went into administration last month after years of losses. SAIC had been in takeover talks with the U.K. carmaker before that.

Late last year, SAIC bought the intellectual property rights for the Rover 25 and 75 and to some engines, Pittman said.

One auto industry executive said SAIC was conducting market research on whether to use the Rover brand, should it produce the cars.

SAIC said it planned to produce passenger cars and was considering launching its own brand. SAIC has partnerships with U.S. automaker General Motors Corp. and Germany's Volkswagen AG, which have helped it gain a huge chunk of one of the world's fastest-growing auto markets and a healthy income stream.

(Shenzhen Daily May 17, 2005)