SAN FRANCISCO (June 19, 2001) – The Italian subsidiary of San Francisco-based Qvale Automotive Group today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its assets to fabled British luxury and sports car manufacturer MG Rover. Qvale employs 70 people, and manufactures the Mangusta sports car at its factory in Modena, Northern Italy.
The agreement reunites the Qvale name with MG, a pairing which began in 1947. At that time, legendary importer Kjell Qvale, father of Qvale Automotive President Bruce Qvale, introduced the MG to the Western United States, helping to establish America’s love-affair with sports cars.
“This transaction benefits both companies, because it combines the design and engineering strengths of the Qvale Mangusta project with the financial resources, brand recognition and production expertise of the MG Rover Group,” according to Qvale Automotive President Bruce Qvale.
Qvale Automotive Group, through its 13 franchise dealers, will continue to market and sell the Mangusta in the United States. In addition, service, parts and warranties will be provided by the dealers with the support of Qvale Automotive Group’s San Francisco headquarters.
In the summer of 2000, after BMW had sold the MG Rover Group to the Phoenix Consortium, Bruce Qvale contacted one of the Consortium directors, Nick Stephenson, and proposed forming a European distribution deal for the Qvale Mangusta. Soon after, Stephenson and his colleagues began to consider the possibility of using the Mangusta platform to develop a high-performance halo car to grow the MG brand.
On February 28, 2001, Stephenson and his colleague Peter Beale began negotiations with Qvale Modena to purchase Mangusta production assets. A contract was drawn, and on June 19 of that year, the announcement was made that the deal was complete (with account reports indicating that the price was £7 million.)
Under the MG Rover group, the Qvale Mangusta platform was developed into the MG XPower SV.