 Some build quality issues were noted on early cars, and the reaction to the unconventional styling was mixed.Lackluster sales figures in 2000 prompted Qvale to reduce the price of model year 2001 cars by nearly 10,000 USD, which the company announced on October 13, 2000.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.