As MG Motor Unveils Hector SUV in India, Here is a Look at Their History

MG Motor, the British marque that will make its debut in the Indian car market with the unveiling of its SUV offering MG Hector, was founded by an automobile engineer Cecil Kimber. Born on 12 April 1888, Kimber began working for the car tycoon William Morris (later Lord Nuffield) in 1921 and was made general manager of the Morris Garages chain in Oxford a year later. Kimber quickly realised that turnover could be increased by offering special models, and so launched the £268 "Morris Garages Chummy" in 1923, according to The Independent. By 1926, its production represented 42 per cent of the British car manufacturer.

“Kimber started to refer to his cars as "MGs" (for Morris Garages) in 1924, but only in 1925 was all mention of Morris dropped and the term "MG Super Sports" emblazoned on his publicity material. MG moved in 1929 to a proper factory at Abingdon, and in July 1930 the sports car enterprise that came from nowhere became the MG Car Company, with Kimber its managing director.”

Despite its merger into larger organisations in 1952, the Morris name remained in use until 1984, when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group favoured its more popular Austin brand.CATCH THE UNVEIL EVENT OF THE MG HECTOR SUV LIVE HEREMG Hector Unveil Live: Features, Design, Images and More Details

By 2000, MG was part of the MG Rover Group, which entered receivership in 2005. The assets and MG brand were purchased by Nanjing Automobile Group (which merged into SAIC in 2008) for GB£53 million.

In 1933, the company’s MG K3 Magnette emerged triumphant at the Mille Miglia, one of the toughest races in the world, and was the first non-Italian marque to take the 1100cc class win.

In 1945, the company launched the MG TC, which sold nearly 2,000 units, and is believed to have initiated the American craze for the British sports car.

In 1957, the MG Ex181 set a world record for reaching a speed of 245.64mph. It broke its own record in 1959 by touching a speed of 254.91mph.

The company forayed into the SUV segment in 2015 with the launch of MG GS.