Nanjing Automobile Group of China is planning to revive one of Great Britain's historic brands -- MG -- and build cars at a plant in Oklahoma.

In a press release, Nanjing said the reborn version of MG Inc. will have three production sites. A plant in Ardmore, Okla., will assemble a redesigned TF coupe. MG's shuttered factory in Longbridge, England, which closed when MG Rover Group collapsed in 2005, will build the TF roadster. And a Nanjing plant in China will build three sedans.

Cars likely will go on sale in the United States in May or June of 2008, MG says.

The company said it expects to begin construction of the Oklahoma plant in early 2007 and start production by the third quarter of 2008.

MG expects the plant to produce 12,000 to 16,000 units a year. About 60 percent of the output would be for North America and 40 percent for Europe. The plant expects to use mostly manual labor, similar to how Lotuses are assembled.

Nanjing Automobile makes small commercial trucks along with cars. Its main carmaking operations is a joint venture with Fiat Auto S.p.A. in Nanjing that assembled just 35,832 cars in 2005.

Nanjing bought MG Rover in 2005 for about $97.3 million at the current exchange rate. The iconic British automaker collapsed in April of that year. MG's origins date to 1923, and it sold cars in the United States from 1947 to 1980.

Nanjing hired Duke Hale to be MG's CEO, with responsibilities for Europe and North America. He most recently was CEO of Lotus Holdings Inc. after two years in charge of the automaker's North American operations. He was also COO of American Isuzu Motors Inc. and has held positions with Volvo and Mazda during his 25-year automotive career.

MG said it hasn't signed up any dealers yet and said sales projections were premature. It is recruiting a sales team to sign up dealers in major markets.

The Nanjing local government has a majority stake in Nanjing Automobile. Nanjing Automobile joins a handful of Chinese automakers, including Chery Automobile Co. and Geely Automobile Holdings Group, that hope to crack the U.S. market.

MG says it plans to distance itself from other Chinese companies by focusing on its European heritage.

Nanjing plans an official announcement on Wednesday, July 12, in Oklahoma City, site of MG's global headquarters for sales, marketing and distribution outside Asia. Nanjing said it will create about 550 jobs in Oklahoma, which was stung by the February closure of a General Motors assembly plant.

Nanjing said the capital investment in the United States will be more than $2 billion. The money comes from state and local governments in Oklahoma, the state's development agency and private investors.