Austin Rover Group
Encyclopedia
The Austin Rover Group was a British
motor manufacturer. It was formed in 1981 as the mass-market car manufacturing subsidiary of British Leyland (BL). ARG was the end result of a comprehensive restructuring programme intended to rescue BL from almost-certain oblivion, and with the Triumph
, Morris
, Riley
and Wolseley
marques now effectively dead, the new, leaner car business was rechristened as the Austin Rover Group and focused primarily on the Austin
and Rover marques.
In 1989, ARG was rebranded as Rover Group
, the name of its owner. In 2008, Tata Motors
purchased the Rover marque, as well as former BL/Rover Group businesses, Land Rover
and Jaguar Cars, and the former BL marques Daimler
and Lanchester
, from the Ford Motor Company
. The Austin marque has been retired and the Mini
marque is owned by BMW
.
Following the collapse of the British Leyland Motor Corporation
(BLMC) in 1975 and the stark Ryder Report
on the ailing firm, the resulting government bail-out and nationalisation saw the company being renamed to British Leyland (BL).
However, the huge industrial relations problems, ineffectual management and product duplication that had plagued the company up to the nationalisation continued throughout the late 1970s. The problems centred around Longbridge
union leader and shop steward Derek Robinson (nicknamed "Red Robbo" by the British press). Robinson had assumed a greater level of control over BL than any of its senior managers, and his network of union leaders in the various BL plants had the power to end production if he had instructed them to do so.
The Labour government of the time ran out of patience with Robinson, and appointed South Africa
n-born corporate troubleshooter Sir Michael Edwardes to turn BL around.
His first task was to curb the excessive amount of power that the trade union
s had over the company. After discovering Robinson's links with various communist groups, the company amassed sufficient evidence claiming that his actions were intended to deliberately damage both BL itself and the UK economy. As a result of this, he was dismissed in 1979. Secondly, Edwardes began a ruthless programme of factory closures and sell-offs. The biggest casualties of this were the MG
assembly plant in Abingdon, and the Triumph
plants in Speke
and Canley
. BL pulled out of entire markets - for example the large Leyland tractors
range was sold off wholesale to Marshall
. Thirdly, he entered into a collaborative agreement with Honda
, which paved the way for the joint development of a range of cars which spearheaded the company's revival in the 1980s and 1990s. Lastly, the number of BL dealerships in the UK was trimmed down drastically.
The new, slimmer British Leyland was organised into a series of groups. Austin Rover handled the mass production of cars, with the lower- to mid-market cars being badged as Austins and the middle- to upper-market cars as Rovers. Light commercial vehicle production (4x4s and van
s) was managed by the Land Rover Group
, whilst full-size commercial vehicles were built by Leyland Trucks
and Leyland Bus
.
Sales of Austin Rover products were reasonably strong, though not quite as high as the sales achieved by some of the British Leyland products. The Austin/MG Metro was regularly among the top five selling cars in Britain throughout the 1980s, and in the early part of the decade it was the best selling supermini in the country. The Metro, which was launched in 1980, gave the firm a much-needed competitor in the entry-level hatchback market and filled a gap in the range vacated by a scaling down of Mini
and Austin Allegro production.
The Austin/MG Maestro
(launched in 1983), was initially very popular, but sales dipped towards the end of the decade and in 1989 it was the 19th best selling car new car in the UK. This was less of a problem thanks to the introduction of the similar-sized Rover 200 in 1984 — the product of a venture with Honda
and one of the few strong-selling small family saloons of its era. So in effect, Austin Rover was selling around 100,000 cars of this size every year during the mid to late 1980s, regaining its share of the sector after the scaling-down of Austin Allegro
production in its final years.
The Austin/MG Montego
went on sale in 1984 and sold fairly well, though it was unable to match the sales success of the sector's established favourites — the Ford Sierra
and Vauxhall Cavalier
. The car had been in the pipeline since the late 1970s when the company's main competitors in this sector were the Morris Marina
and Austin Maxi
, but the Montego actually replaced the Morris Ital
that had been launched in 1980 as an updated version of the Marina. The Maxi continued until 1982, when it was discontinued in preparation for the launch of the Maestro and Montego.
Austin Rover's executive car, the Rover 800
, was launched in 1986 as the second product of its venture with Honda, being based on the Honda Legend
. This car also sold well, being a popular competitor for the likes of the Ford Granada
and Vauxhall Carlton
. It was also sold in America under the Sterling
brand, but this project was quickly shelved due to unacceptable product quality issues that led to low sales.
Austin Rover's decision not to replace sports cars like the MG MGB
and Triumph TR7
was justified by the fact that such cars were no longer popular in the early 1980s, and many other manufacturers had also stopped - or were about to stop - production of small two-seater sports cars. Buyers were instead being guided to "hot hatchbacks", following a trend set by Volkswagen's
Golf GTI
in 1976. By 1985, Austin Rover had launched a line-up of performance variants of its Metro and Maestro hatchbacks and the Montego saloon. These cars were badged as MG models and proved popular, especially in the form of the MG Metro. MG models accounted for approximately 10% of Metro, Maestro and Montego production between 1982 and 1991. The Rover Group
continued production of the MG Metro until 1990 when it was replaced by the Rover Metro GTi. MG Maestro and Montego production continued at Cowley until July 1991 when they were discontinued to make way for the GTi variant of the Rover 200 & 400.
Following the renaming of its parent company, BL, in 1986 to the Rover Group
, and the subsequent sell-off of its truck and bus businesses, and takeover in 1988 by British Aerospace
, and then in 1994 by BMW
, the combine now known as Rover Group was eventually sold back into private ownership and became MG Rover, which lasted five years before going bankrupt. MG
production was revived in 2007 by new owner Nanjing Automobile, while the Rover
marque was purchased by Ford
in 2006, only to be transferred to ownership of India
n carmaker Tata
in 2008, as Tata also took over Land Rover
and Jaguar to form Jaguar Land Rover
.
The Land Rover
marque was removed from the combine at the time of the 2000 sell-off, becoming part of the Ford Motor Company
, while BMW retained the rights to build the new MINI which was launched in 2001.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
motor manufacturer. It was formed in 1981 as the mass-market car manufacturing subsidiary of British Leyland (BL). ARG was the end result of a comprehensive restructuring programme intended to rescue BL from almost-certain oblivion, and with the Triumph
Triumph Motor Company
The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
, Morris
Morris
-People:* Morris , a common family name * Morris , Belgian cartoonist, creator of Lucky Luke* Morris, one of the 14 Tribes of Galway, Ireland-Places:In Canada*Morris, Manitoba...
, Riley
Riley
- Animals :* Riley , an American Thoroughbred racehorse* Rileyasuchus, "Riley's crocodile," a genus of phytosaur from the Rhaetian of England- Canada :* Riley Park-Little Mountain, a neighborhood in Vancouver, British Columbia...
and Wolseley
Wolseley
-Businesses:* The Wolseley, a restaurant at 160 Piccadilly, London, based in the former head showroom of the Wolseley Motor Company* Wolseley plc, a UK-based multinational building supplies company which was formerly active in other sectors...
marques now effectively dead, the new, leaner car business was rechristened as the Austin Rover Group and focused primarily on the Austin
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
and Rover marques.
In 1989, ARG was rebranded as Rover Group
Rover Group
The Rover Group plc was the name given in 1986 to the British state-owned vehicle manufacturer previously known as British Leyland or BL. Owned by British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, when it was sold to BMW, the Group was broken up in 2000 with the Rover and MG marques being acquired by the MG...
, the name of its owner. In 2008, Tata Motors
Tata Motors
Tata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India. Part of the Tata Group, it was formerly known as TELCO...
purchased the Rover marque, as well as former BL/Rover Group businesses, Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
and Jaguar Cars, and the former BL marques Daimler
Daimler Motor Company
The Daimler Motor Company Limited was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H J Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The right to the use of the name Daimler had been purchased simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler Motoren...
and Lanchester
Lanchester
Lanchester may refer to:Places*Lanchester, County Durham, village in England*Lanchester Polytechnic, former name of Coventry UniversityPeople*Elsa Lanchester , Oscar-nominated English character actress*Frederick W...
, from the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
. The Austin marque has been retired and the Mini
MINI (BMW)
Mini is a British automotive marque owned by BMW which specialises in small cars.Mini originated as a specific vehicle, a small car originally known as the Morris Mini-Minor and the Austin Seven, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959, and developed into a brand encompassing a range of...
marque is owned by BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
.
History
British Leyland Motor Corporation
British Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd in 1978...
(BLMC) in 1975 and the stark Ryder Report
Ryder Report (British Leyland)
The Ryder Report was the official report produced for the Government of the United Kingdom in 1975 by Sir Don Ryder, newly appointed head of the UK's National Enterprise Board who was given the task of reporting on the British Leyland Motor Corporation and listing recommendations for its future.The...
on the ailing firm, the resulting government bail-out and nationalisation saw the company being renamed to British Leyland (BL).
However, the huge industrial relations problems, ineffectual management and product duplication that had plagued the company up to the nationalisation continued throughout the late 1970s. The problems centred around Longbridge
Longbridge
Longbridge is an area of Birmingham, England. For local government purposes it is a ward within the district of Northfield.Since 1905, the area has been dominated by the Longbridge plant, which produced Austin, Nash Metropolitan, Morris, British Leyland, and most recently MG Rover cars...
union leader and shop steward Derek Robinson (nicknamed "Red Robbo" by the British press). Robinson had assumed a greater level of control over BL than any of its senior managers, and his network of union leaders in the various BL plants had the power to end production if he had instructed them to do so.
The Labour government of the time ran out of patience with Robinson, and appointed South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n-born corporate troubleshooter Sir Michael Edwardes to turn BL around.
His first task was to curb the excessive amount of power that the trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s had over the company. After discovering Robinson's links with various communist groups, the company amassed sufficient evidence claiming that his actions were intended to deliberately damage both BL itself and the UK economy. As a result of this, he was dismissed in 1979. Secondly, Edwardes began a ruthless programme of factory closures and sell-offs. The biggest casualties of this were the MG
MG (car)
The MG Car Company is a former British sports car manufacturer founded in the 1920s by Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés....
assembly plant in Abingdon, and the Triumph
Triumph Motor Company
The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
plants in Speke
Speke
Speke is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, close to the boundaries of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley. It is south east of the city centre and to the west of the town of Widnes....
and Canley
Canley
Canley is a suburban neighbourhood located in southwest Coventry, England. Canley became part of Coventry as a result of successive encroachment of the latter's boundaries between 1928 and 1932, having historically been part of the Stoneleigh parish....
. BL pulled out of entire markets - for example the large Leyland tractors
Leyland tractors
Leyland tractors was created after the merger of the British Motor Corporation with Leyland Motors to form British Leyland in 1968. Nuffield tractors had been started after World War II by Lord Nuffield owner of the Morris Motor Company which had become part of BMC in 1951.After the merger Leyland...
range was sold off wholesale to Marshall
Marshall, Sons & Co.
-External links:* – at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia...
. Thirdly, he entered into a collaborative agreement with Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
, which paved the way for the joint development of a range of cars which spearheaded the company's revival in the 1980s and 1990s. Lastly, the number of BL dealerships in the UK was trimmed down drastically.
The new, slimmer British Leyland was organised into a series of groups. Austin Rover handled the mass production of cars, with the lower- to mid-market cars being badged as Austins and the middle- to upper-market cars as Rovers. Light commercial vehicle production (4x4s and van
Van
A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...
s) was managed by the Land Rover Group
Land Rover Group
Land Rover Group was a division of British Leyland and later the Rover Group that was in existence between 1981 and 1987. LRG brought British Leyland's light commercial vehicle production under one management, consisting of the Land Rover utility 4x4 range, the Range Rover luxury 4x4 and the...
, whilst full-size commercial vehicles were built by Leyland Trucks
Leyland Trucks
Leyland Trucks is the UK's leading medium & heavy duty truck manufacturer and is based in the town of Leyland, Lancashire. It emerged from the bankruptcy of DAF NV as the result of a management buy-out in 1993, and was acquired by PACCAR in 1998, of which it is now a subsidiary...
and Leyland Bus
Leyland Bus
Leyland Bus was a British bus manufacturer. It emerged from the Rover Group as a management buyout of the bus business...
.
Sales of Austin Rover products were reasonably strong, though not quite as high as the sales achieved by some of the British Leyland products. The Austin/MG Metro was regularly among the top five selling cars in Britain throughout the 1980s, and in the early part of the decade it was the best selling supermini in the country. The Metro, which was launched in 1980, gave the firm a much-needed competitor in the entry-level hatchback market and filled a gap in the range vacated by a scaling down of Mini
Mini
The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
and Austin Allegro production.
The Austin/MG Maestro
Austin Maestro
The Austin Maestro is a compact-sized 5-door hatchback car that was produced from 1983 to 1994, initially by the Austin Rover subsidiary of British Leyland , and from 1988 onwards by its successor, Rover Group. The car was produced at the former Morris plant in Cowley, Oxford. It was initially...
(launched in 1983), was initially very popular, but sales dipped towards the end of the decade and in 1989 it was the 19th best selling car new car in the UK. This was less of a problem thanks to the introduction of the similar-sized Rover 200 in 1984 — the product of a venture with Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
and one of the few strong-selling small family saloons of its era. So in effect, Austin Rover was selling around 100,000 cars of this size every year during the mid to late 1980s, regaining its share of the sector after the scaling-down of Austin Allegro
Austin Allegro
The Austin Allegro is a small family car manufactured by British Leyland under the Austin name from 1973 until 1983. The same vehicle was built in Italy by Innocenti between 1974 and 1975 and sold as the Innocenti Regent...
production in its final years.
The Austin/MG Montego
Austin Montego
The Austin Montego is a British mid-size saloon car that was produced by the Austin Rover subsidiary of British Leyland , and its successors, from 1984 until 1994. The Montego was the replacement for the Morris Ital, to give British Leyland a modern competitor for the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall...
went on sale in 1984 and sold fairly well, though it was unable to match the sales success of the sector's established favourites — the Ford Sierra
Ford Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a large family car that was built by Ford Europe from 1982 until 1993. It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément. The code used during development was "Project Toni"....
and Vauxhall Cavalier
Vauxhall Cavalier
The Vauxhall Cavalier is a large family car sold primarily in the UK by Vauxhall Motors, the British division of General Motors , from 1975 to 1995...
. The car had been in the pipeline since the late 1970s when the company's main competitors in this sector were the Morris Marina
Morris Marina
The Morris Marina is a car which was manufactured by the Morris division of British Leyland in the UK throughout the 1970s, which was a period of great turbulence and difficulty for the British car industry. It was known in some markets as the Austin Marina, Leyland Marina, and Morris 1.7...
and Austin Maxi
Austin Maxi
The Austin Maxi was a medium sized 5-door hatchback car from British Leyland for the 1970s. It was the first British five speed five-door hatchback.-History:...
, but the Montego actually replaced the Morris Ital
Morris Ital
The Morris Ital was a medium-sized saloon car built by British Leyland from 1980 until 1984.-Design and launch:The Ital was first launched on 1 July 1980. It took its name from Giorgetto Giugiaro's ItalDesign studio, who had been employed by BL to manage the re-engineering of Morris Marina, a car...
that had been launched in 1980 as an updated version of the Marina. The Maxi continued until 1982, when it was discontinued in preparation for the launch of the Maestro and Montego.
Austin Rover's executive car, the Rover 800
Rover 800
The Rover 800 series is an executive car introduced by the Austin Rover Group in 1986 and also marketed as the Sterling in the United States. Co-developed with Honda, it was a close relative to the Honda Legend and the successor to the Rover SD1....
, was launched in 1986 as the second product of its venture with Honda, being based on the Honda Legend
Honda Legend
The Honda Legend is a mid-size luxury car made by the Japanese automaker Honda. It was the result of Project XX, a joint agreement started in November 1981 with the Austin Rover Group of Great Britain and was mechanically related to the Rover 800 series....
. This car also sold well, being a popular competitor for the likes of the Ford Granada
Ford Granada (Europe)
The March 1972 released Granada succeeded the British Ford Zephyr, and the German P7-series as Ford's European executive car offering. At first, lower models in the range were called the Ford Consul, but from 1975 on they were all called Granadas. The car soon became popular for taxi, fleet and...
and Vauxhall Carlton
Vauxhall Carlton
The Vauxhall Carlton was an executive car that was sold by Vauxhall in the United Kingdom from 1978 to 1994.-Mark I :The first Vauxhall Carlton was introduced in late 1978 as a replacement for the ageing VX1800/VX2000 saloons...
. It was also sold in America under the Sterling
Sterling (car)
Sterling was a brand name of automobile marketed in the USA by ARCONA, Austin Rover Cars Of North America under the name Sterling Motor Cars, a division of the Rover car company of the UK...
brand, but this project was quickly shelved due to unacceptable product quality issues that led to low sales.
Austin Rover's decision not to replace sports cars like the MG MGB
MG MGB
The MGB is a sports car launched by MG Cars in May 1962 to replace the MGA. Introduced as a four-cylinder roadster, a coupé with 2+2 seating was added in 1965...
and Triumph TR7
Triumph TR7
The Triumph TR7 is a sports car manufactured from September 1974 to October 1981 by the Triumph Motor Company in the United Kingdom. It was initially produced at the Speke, Liverpool factory, moving to Canley, Coventry in 1978 and then finally to the Rover plant in Solihull in 1980...
was justified by the fact that such cars were no longer popular in the early 1980s, and many other manufacturers had also stopped - or were about to stop - production of small two-seater sports cars. Buyers were instead being guided to "hot hatchbacks", following a trend set by Volkswagen's
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
Golf GTI
Volkswagen Golf
The Volkswagen Golf is a small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates – as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico .The...
in 1976. By 1985, Austin Rover had launched a line-up of performance variants of its Metro and Maestro hatchbacks and the Montego saloon. These cars were badged as MG models and proved popular, especially in the form of the MG Metro. MG models accounted for approximately 10% of Metro, Maestro and Montego production between 1982 and 1991. The Rover Group
Rover Group
The Rover Group plc was the name given in 1986 to the British state-owned vehicle manufacturer previously known as British Leyland or BL. Owned by British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, when it was sold to BMW, the Group was broken up in 2000 with the Rover and MG marques being acquired by the MG...
continued production of the MG Metro until 1990 when it was replaced by the Rover Metro GTi. MG Maestro and Montego production continued at Cowley until July 1991 when they were discontinued to make way for the GTi variant of the Rover 200 & 400.
Following the renaming of its parent company, BL, in 1986 to the Rover Group
Rover Group
The Rover Group plc was the name given in 1986 to the British state-owned vehicle manufacturer previously known as British Leyland or BL. Owned by British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, when it was sold to BMW, the Group was broken up in 2000 with the Rover and MG marques being acquired by the MG...
, and the subsequent sell-off of its truck and bus businesses, and takeover in 1988 by British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
, and then in 1994 by BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
, the combine now known as Rover Group was eventually sold back into private ownership and became MG Rover, which lasted five years before going bankrupt. MG
MG (car)
The MG Car Company is a former British sports car manufacturer founded in the 1920s by Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés....
production was revived in 2007 by new owner Nanjing Automobile, while the Rover
Rover (car)
The Rover Company is a former British car manufacturing company founded as Starley & Sutton Co. of Coventry in 1878. After developing the template for the modern bicycle with its Rover Safety Bicycle of 1885, the company moved into the automotive industry...
marque was purchased by Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
in 2006, only to be transferred to ownership of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n carmaker Tata
Tata Motors
Tata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India. Part of the Tata Group, it was formerly known as TELCO...
in 2008, as Tata also took over Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
and Jaguar to form Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover is a British automotive company owned by Tata Motors of India. It develops, manufactures and sells vehicles under the Jaguar and Land Rover marques.-History:...
.
The Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
marque was removed from the combine at the time of the 2000 sell-off, becoming part of the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, while BMW retained the rights to build the new MINI which was launched in 2001.
Austin Rover Group timeline
- 1981: BL Cars Ltd is renamed Austin Rover Group Ltd. Launch of the Triumph AcclaimTriumph AcclaimThe Triumph Acclaim was a front-wheel drive medium-sized family car made by British Leyland from 1981 to 1984. It was based on the Honda Ballade and used a Honda-designed engine, but met United Kingdom component-content requirements...
, successor the DolomiteTriumph DolomiteThe Triumph Dolomite was a popular small saloon car produced by the Triumph Motor Company division of the British Leyland Corporation in Canley, Coventry between October 1972 and August 1980.-History:...
and restyled version of the Japanese-builtJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
Honda BalladeHonda BalladeThe Honda Ballade was a subcompact automobile built by Honda of Japan. It began as a four-door version of the Civic in 1980. The Ballade was developed at the same time the Honda Vigor appeared, which was a higher content Honda Accord...
. - 1982: Launch of Austin AmbassadorAustin AmbassadorThe Austin Ambassador was a medium-to-large hatchback car model introduced by British Leyland in 1982. The vehicle was a heavily updated version of the Princess, an ageing model that had lacked a hatchback...
, a facelifted version of the discontinued Princess. - 1982: Michael Edwardes steps down as Chairman, and is replaced by Harold MusgroveHarold MusgroveHarold Musgrove served as Chair of the Austin Rover Group from 1982 until 1986. He was replaced by Graham Day at the helm. During his time at Austin Morris he oversaw the sacking of Derek Robinson and the strike that followed. He also oversaw the introduction of the Maestro and Triumph Bounty;...
. MG badge is relaunched, two years after being discontinued, on the MG Metro 1300. - 1983: Launch of Austin MaestroAustin MaestroThe Austin Maestro is a compact-sized 5-door hatchback car that was produced from 1983 to 1994, initially by the Austin Rover subsidiary of British Leyland , and from 1988 onwards by its successor, Rover Group. The car was produced at the former Morris plant in Cowley, Oxford. It was initially...
, which replaces the 10-year-old AllegroAustin AllegroThe Austin Allegro is a small family car manufactured by British Leyland under the Austin name from 1973 until 1983. The same vehicle was built in Italy by Innocenti between 1974 and 1975 and sold as the Innocenti Regent...
. The MG badge is used for the MG Maestro 1600 sports model. - 1984: Launch of the second Honda-ARG joint venture car, the Mk.1 Rover 200-series. It succeeds the Triumph AcclaimTriumph AcclaimThe Triumph Acclaim was a front-wheel drive medium-sized family car made by British Leyland from 1981 to 1984. It was based on the Honda Ballade and used a Honda-designed engine, but met United Kingdom component-content requirements...
, and in doing so spells the end of the TriumphTriumph Motor CompanyThe Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
marque. The MG Maestro 1600 is discontinued after eighteen months and replaced by the more powerful MG Maestro 2.0 EFi, which has a fuel injected 2.0 unit in place of the 1.6 engine with Weber twin-carburettors. - 1984: Launch of the Austin MontegoAustin MontegoThe Austin Montego is a British mid-size saloon car that was produced by the Austin Rover subsidiary of British Leyland , and its successors, from 1984 until 1994. The Montego was the replacement for the Morris Ital, to give British Leyland a modern competitor for the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall...
as successor to the Morris ItalMorris ItalThe Morris Ital was a medium-sized saloon car built by British Leyland from 1980 until 1984.-Design and launch:The Ital was first launched on 1 July 1980. It took its name from Giorgetto Giugiaro's ItalDesign studio, who had been employed by BL to manage the re-engineering of Morris Marina, a car...
. This means the end of the Morris marque after 72 years. The MG Maestro 1600 is replaced by the MG Maestro 2.0 EFi - 1985: Production begins at CowleyCowley, OxfordCowley in Oxford, England, is a residential and industrial area that forms a small conurbation within greater Oxford. Cowley's neighbours are central Oxford to the northwest, Rose Hill and Blackbird Leys to the south, New Headington to the north and the villages of Horspath and Garsington across...
of the Honda BalladeHonda BalladeThe Honda Ballade was a subcompact automobile built by Honda of Japan. It began as a four-door version of the Civic in 1980. The Ballade was developed at the same time the Honda Vigor appeared, which was a higher content Honda Accord...
, which is visually identical to the Rover 200 but uses some of its own engines and has a higher level of specification. The MG version of the Montego goes on sale. - 1986: Launch of the Rover 800-series, jointly developed with Honda and based on the Honda LegendHonda LegendThe Honda Legend is a mid-size luxury car made by the Japanese automaker Honda. It was the result of Project XX, a joint agreement started in November 1981 with the Austin Rover Group of Great Britain and was mechanically related to the Rover 800 series....
; Rover SD1Rover SD1Rover SD1 is both the code name and eventual production name given to a series of large executive cars made by British Leyland or BL through its Specialist, Rover Triumph and Austin Rover divisions from 1976 until 1986....
production ceases after 10 years. - 1986: BL renamed Rover Group PLC.
- 1987: UnipartUnipartUnipart Group is a multinational logisitics, supply chain, and consultancy company headquartered in Cowley, United Kingdom. It has operations in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan and works across a variety of sectors that include automotive, rail, marine and leisure...
, ARG's spare parts brand is sold off via management buyout. - 1987: The Austin marque is shelved, with the Metro, Maestro and Montego ranges now selling under just their model names. The Rover badge is not used on these cars in the UK market.
- 1988: Rover Group PLC sold by British Government to British AerospaceBritish AerospaceBritish Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
. - 1989: Austin Rover Group is re-branded Rover Group. Its final launch was the MG Maestro Turbo, powered by a 2.0 turbocharged engine and one of the fastest hatchbacks in the world with a top speed of nearly 130 mi/h.
See also
- MG Rover
- British Leyland Motor CorporationBritish Leyland Motor CorporationBritish Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd in 1978...
- Leyland TrucksLeyland TrucksLeyland Trucks is the UK's leading medium & heavy duty truck manufacturer and is based in the town of Leyland, Lancashire. It emerged from the bankruptcy of DAF NV as the result of a management buy-out in 1993, and was acquired by PACCAR in 1998, of which it is now a subsidiary...
- Leyland BusLeyland BusLeyland Bus was a British bus manufacturer. It emerged from the Rover Group as a management buyout of the bus business...