British Leyland Motor Corporation
The British Leyland Motor Corporation was a motor manufacturing company formed in Britain in 1968. It was created from the merger of many British car companies. Many of these brands have since been de-merged and continue in use to this day, although the British Leyland name came to an end in 1986. The most direct heir of the company is the current MG Rover Group.The car firms (and car brands) which eventually merged to form the company are as follows:
- 1895 Wolseley
- 1896 Lanchester
- 1896 Leyland Motors (commercial vehicles)
- 1896 Daimler
- 1898 Riley
- 1903 Standard
- 1904 Rover
- 1905 Austin
- 1912 Morris
- 1913 Vanden Plas
- 1919 Alvis
- 1923 MG created by Morris
- 1923 Triumph
- 1924 BSA used as a car brand
- 1935 Jaguar
- 1947 Land Rover created by Rover
- 1952 Austin Healey created by Austin division of BMC (see below)
- 1959 Mini created by Austin division of BMC
Several of these names (including Jaguar, Land Rover and Mini) are now in other hands. The history of the mergers is as follows:
- 1910 Daimler purchased by engineering company BSA
- 1931 Lanchester purchased by BSA
- 1938 Morris incorporates Wolseley and Riley forming the Nuffield Organisation
- 1944 Standard and Triumph merge forming Standard Triumph
- 1946 Austin merge with Vanden Plas
- 1952 The Nuffield Organisation and Austin merge to form the British Motor Corporation (BMC)
- 1960 Jaguar buy the car-making interests of BSA, including Daimler
- 1961 Leyland Motors merge with Standard Triumph
- 1965 Rover buy Alvis
- 1966 BMC merge with Jaguar to form British Motor Holdings
- 1967 Leyland absorb Rover
- 1968 Leyland merge with British Motor Holdings to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation
- 1975 British Leyland nationalised due to financial difficulties
- 1977 Collaboration with Honda begins
- 1981 Alvis sold to United Scientific Holdings
- 1984 Jaguar (including Daimler) floated off; bought by Ford in 1989
- 1986 British Leyland renamed as Rover Group
- 1986 Leyland Trucks sold to DAF; became independent LDV in 1993
- 1986 Leyland Bus floated off; bought by Volvo 1988
- 1988 Rover Group privatised; sold to British Aerospace
- 1994 Rover Group sold to BMW; collaboration with Honda ends
- 2000 Land Rover sold to Ford
- 2000 Mini retained by BMW
- 2000 Remainder of company now independent as the MG Rover Group
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List of notable BL and BMC and related models (up to 1986)
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