Could China soon flex its growing economic muscle and make a grab for MG Rover, one of the best known, if most troubled, marques in the European car market?
Auto analysts reckon it's only a matter of time before China's increasingly powerful car companies start seeking out a major brand to underline the country's automotive ambitions.
There is strong speculation that China's biggest passenger car maker, the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), will end up buying MG Rover, the struggling British car maker which was rescued from the brink of obsolescence four years ago by a group of investors.
Rumours that the Chinese are gearing up to 'shanghai' the independent British car maker have been flying around since June when the state-owned SAIC and independent Rover signed a co-operation agreement. SAIC has made no secret of its ambitions to become a member of the world's big six, an elite pack of car firms led by General Motors and Ford.
The Shanghai firm currently makes 600,000 cars a year with its joint venture partners Volkswagen and GM and would need to up its production considerably to rate among the biggest players.
But it remains a force to be reckoned with. SAIC has more than 50 plants around Shanghai, China's biggest city, employing nearly 65,000 employees. Last month it agreed to buy South Korea's Ssangyong Motor Co and then said that it would keep seeking overseas acquisitions.
To date both SAIC and Rover have played down talk of a take-over or a big stake purchase, saying only they have yet to receive central government approval.
"We signed an agreement with Rover in June. I don't think there have been any developments on this issue since then. I can't tell you what was in the agreement because I haven't read it myself. Few people are qualified to have access to the agreement," said a SIAC spokesman.
MG Rover insists that talks to date do not include SAIC buying or taking a stake in the British car maker, with one senior executive commenting that it seemed like people had put two and two together to make five.
He was speaking after speculation of a takeover intensified on Monday when the trade newspaper, Automotive News Europe, said SAIC planned to buy MG Rover as part of its expansion plans overseas. Senior MG Rover sources said there would be some kind of announcement before the end of the year relating to the cooperation deal. MG Rover would have a lot to gain from being taken over by a powerful partner.
The firm has been struggling to break even after being sold four years ago by Germany's BMW for just £10 (€15). It was bought by Phoenix Venture Holdings Ltd, which is Britain's seventh-largest private equity group.
It received nearly €750 million from BMW to guarantee its short-term future, but it needs more money to develop new models.
A deal between MG Rover and SAIC would mean both companies working together to produce new models and share the costs. MG Rover has considered production sites in Slovakia and Poland in recent months as part of a cost-cutting drive, but no firm plans have materialised.
Analysts reckon the big prize for SAIC would be MG Rover's network of around 1,250 western European dealerships, which would give it a foothold in the lucrative European market.
Local commentators in Shanghai have been convinced that a move by SAIC for MG Rover has been on the cards since the two announced the tie-up in June. The state-owned Liberation Daily reported then that "insiders said the agreement was likely to involve Shanghai automotive buying shares in MG Rover."
Shanghai Automotive's top-selling car is the Santana, which it makes jointly with the German carmaker Volkswagen, which Irish drivers will recognise as the Passat model of the early 1980s.
It remains the taxi of choice in Shanghai, and has retained its appeal with private drivers all over China, despite a more open market having increased the variety of cars available.