British Leyland

British Leyland

British Leyland was a UK manufacturing company formed in 1968 and incorporated much of the British owned motor vehicle industry. Even though it had profitable marquees which included Jaguar, Rover, and Land Rover the company had a troubled history. The BLMC was created by the merger of British Motor Holdings and Leyland Motor Corporation. The merger combined most of the remaining independent British car manufacturing companies and other enterprises including construction equipment, refrigerators, and metal casting companies. In all there were nearly one hundred different companies and the new corporation was arranged into seven divisions.

In 1975 the organization was drastically restructured and a new holding company, British Leyland Limited was formed. Leyland Cars was the largest car manufacturer in the UK. In 1984 Jaguar became an independent company. Many of the other brands were divested overtime and continue to exist today.

The British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) was created from a merger of British Motor Holdings (BMH) and Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC) and was encouraged by the government. The merger combined most of the independent automakers in Britain. The company had an array of profitable and well known marquees including the best selling Mini, Jaguar, and Land Rover. The government was hopeful that the Leyland Motor Corporation expertise could help the ailing British Motor Holdings to be profitable once again.

The BMH was one of the largest car manufacturers in the UK but it offered a range of dated vehicles. Even though they had several successful cars including the Mini, the UK’s biggest selling car at the time, they had nothing in the way of new models to compete with their rivals. Eventually, after failed attempts of restructuring the company was dissolved and many of the popular brands were spun off or bought out by other companies.