Rover Group plc was the name that was given by the British government Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Under the unwritten British constitution, executive authority notionally lies with the monarch but is exercised only by and on the advice of the Cabinet, a collective body of the most senior ministers of the Crown, who are appointed, in 1986, to the state-owned Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being transferred to the public sector to be operated by or vehicle manufacturer British Leyland 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 (later BL plc) in 1978. It incorporated much of the British owned motor vehicle or BL.
After divesting of its commercial vehicle and bus manufacturing divisions the company then consisted of the car manufacturing arm Austin Rover Group 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, and the Land Rover Group. This group was privatised Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector (businesses that operate for a private profit) or to private non-profit organizations. In a broader sense, privatization refers to transfer of any government function to the private in 1988 by the sale of the company to British Aerospace British Aerospace was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. In 1999 it purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc to form BAE Systems, who retained Canadian The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three Graham Day as joint CEO/Chairman, and made Kevin Morley MD or Rover cars. On 31 January 1994 BAe sold the company on to German A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state, vehicle manufacturer BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), (literally English: Bavarian Motor Works) is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the MINI brand, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands. BMW is known for its.[1][2] Millions of pounds of investment by BMW failed to turn the company into profit.[2] BMW retained Mini production, sold Land Rover to Ford and the remainder to the Phoenix Consortium as The MG Rover Group MG Rover was the last domestically owned mass-production car manufacturer in the British motor industry. The company was formed when BMW sold the car-making and engine manufacturing assets of the original Rover Group to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000. Land-Rover was subsequently sold by Ford to TATA Motors Tata Motors Ltd is a multinational corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India. Part of the Tata Group, it was formerly known as TELCO (TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company). Tata Motors has a consolidated revenue of USD 16 billion after the acquisition of British automotive brands Jaguar and Land Rover in 2008; the rights to the Rover brand name are now owned by TATA Motors of India, owners of both Land-Rover Land Rover is currently a luxury-type four-wheel drive, all-terrain vehicle manufacturer, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. It operates as the Jaguar Land Rover business unit by Tata Motors of India and Jaguar Jaguar Cars Ltd., better known simply as Jaguar, is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Coventry, England. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors Ltd. and is operated as part of the Jaguar Land Rover business - in addition TATA Motors also own Daimler The Daimler Motor Company was a British motor vehicle manufacturing company, founded in 1896, and based in Coventry. The company became a subsidiary of BSA in 1910, and was acquired by Jaguar Cars in 1960 and Lanchester brands.
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Models
Rover 800 series
Main article: Rover 800Although the Rover 800 went on sale shortly after Austin Rover became the Rover Group, it had actually been developed entirely by Austin Rover and was a result of the final new model development by BL - it was developed in conjunction with Honda Honda Motor Company, Ltd. listen (help·info) (TYO: 7267) is a Japanese multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. It sold well among buyers in the executive market, with a facelift in 1991 keeping its appeal reasonably fresh. However, it stagnated after a replacement targeted for the 1992 model year was cancelled. Many of its duties as a flagship were performed by the 600. By its demise in late 1998, it was looking considerably dated.
Rover 200 series
Main article: Rover 200 SeriesThe Rover Group's first significant new car launch was the Rover 200, which was introduced in October 1989. Unlike its predecessor, it was a three- or five-door hatchback instead of a four-door saloon. It used a new range of 16-valve K Series petrol engines as well as a Peugeot Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe 1.9 diesel and 1.8 turbodiesel both fitted to the Phase 1 Peugeot 405.[citation needed] Sales were stronger than its successors, and its launch coincided with a winding-down in production of the similarly-sized Maestro, which finally ceased production at the end of 1994 having spent the final years of its life as a budget alternative to the more upmarket Rover 200. Coupe and cabriolet versions of the 200 were later sold, and these were sold alongside the all-new 1995 model and continued until that model was upgraded to become the Rover 25 The Rover 200-series / 25 is a small car which was produced by the Austin Rover Group, and latterly the Rover Group and MG Rover in 1999. The 1989 Rover 200 was a strong seller throughout its life and its successor continued this trend, though its final year of production (1999) saw a significant dip in sales. These strong sales were not as high as the ever-popular Ford Escort.[citation needed] The Rover 200 had actually been around since 1988 as the Longbridge-built The Longbridge plant is an industrial site situated in the Longbridge area of Birmingham, England. Opened in 1905, Longbridge was once the largest manufacturing plant in the world. During the 20th Century the site employed many thousands of people, central to the economy of the local area. Longbridge has produced a wide variety of products, Honda Concerto, which offered a higher level of equipment but only achieved a fraction of its sales.
Rover 400 series
Main article: Rover 400 SeriesAt the beginning of 1990, Rover launched the Rover 400 range. The 400 was essentially a four-door version of the 200 hatchback, but was slightly longer and offered more stowage space. It was sold as an alternative to the likes of the Ford Sierra The Ford Sierra is a large family car 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, but was never able to match the success of these cars. An estate version of the 400 was launched in 1994, and continued alongside the all-new Honda Civic-based The Honda Civic is a line of compact cars developed and manufactured by Honda. In North America, the Civic is the second-longest continuously-running nameplate from a Japanese manufacturer; only the Toyota Corolla, introduced in 1968, has been in production longer. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold in model that was launched the following year. The 1995 Rover 400 was a more substantial and popular alternative to other large family cars than its successor was, offering impressive equipment levels, but a relative shortage of interior space because it was nearer in size to cars in the next category down. The Rover 400 was facelifted in 1999 to become the Rover 45 The Rover 400 is a small family car produced by the British automaker Rover from 1990 to 2005. The car was developed during Rover's collaboration with Honda, and all generations of the car were derived from re-developed Honda chassis, first the Honda Concerto and later the Honda Civic, and at the same time the estate version of the original 400 was dropped.
Rover Metro/Rover 100
Rover 111 Main article: Rover MetroMay 1990 saw Rover give the decade-old Metro The Metro is a supermini car that was produced by the Austin Rover Group division of British Leyland and its successors. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin mini Metro. It was intended to complement the Mini, and was developed under the codename LC8 a major reworking, which most notably included internal and external restyling, as well as new 1.1 and 1.4 K-Series petrol engines. The new Metro offered some of the best standards of specification in any supermini at the time,[citation needed] and it sold well until being replaced by the Rover 100 (essentially another update of the original 1980 design) in late 1994. The Rover 100 remained in production for three years, selling reasonably well, until it was discontinued after a dismal crash test performance that saw demand fall dramatically.
Rover 600 series
Main article: Rover 600 Series Rover 620tiRover entered the compact executive market in March 1993 with its 600 range. Sold as a four-door saloon, the 600 was based on the Honda Accord The Honda Accord is a series of mid-size automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, and sold in the majority of automotive markets throughout the world but used Rover engines as well as Honda engines (Honda used Rover's diesel engine in their european Accord) and had a classier interior. It was very popular in the compact executive market, but could not match the ever-popular BMW 3 Series The BMW 3 Series is a compact executive car manufactured by the German automaker BMW since May 1975. Successor to the BMW New Class, it has been produced in five different generations and in no less than five different body styles. It is BMW's best selling automobile, accounting for nearly 40% of the company's auto sales in 2005.
Land Rover
The Land Rover Land Rover is currently a luxury-type four-wheel drive, all-terrain vehicle manufacturer, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. It operates as the Jaguar Land Rover business unit by Tata Motors of India arm of the Rover Group expanded dramatically after the late 1980s. The Ninety/One Ten The product of continued development of the original Land Rover Series I launched in 1948, it uses the basic yet robust underpinnings of a ladder frame chassis and aluminium body and is available in a huge variety of body types from the manufacturer, plus many more specialist versions such as fire engines models received minor equipment and driveline upgrades and sales began to improve after a severe and near-terminal decline in the early part of the decade. The Range Rover The Range Rover Classic is a 4x4 luxury SUV that was built by British car maker Land Rover from 1970 to 1996. It was the first generation of vehicles produced under the Range Rover name. For most of its history, it was known simply as the "Range Rover"; Land Rover coined the term "Range Rover Classic" for the brief period the enjoyed increased sales following its repositioning as a luxury vehicle, with higher equipment levels and options such as an automatic transmission An automatic transmission is a motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually. Similar but larger devices are also used for heavy-duty commercial and industrial vehicles and equipment and a diesel engine A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber during the final stage of compression. This is in contrast to spark ignition engines such as a petrol engine (known as a gasoline engine in North America) or gas engine (using a option being offered for the first time. The successful Discovery The Land Rover Discovery is a mid-size SUV, with off-road capabilities, from the British car maker Land Rover; a subsidiary of Tata Motors. There have been three generations of the vehicle, which was first introduced in 1989. The current 'Discovery 4 is marketed in North America as the LR4 'family' 4x4 was launched in 1989 and became Europe's top-selling 4x4 within 18 months. The Discovery brought with it an advanced diesel engine, which was soon fitted to the other models in the range. This period saw Land Rover rationalise its operations, closing down satellite factories and increasing parts-sharing between models (axles, transmissions and engines were all shared, and the Discovery used the same chassis A chassis (pronounced /ˈʃæsi, ˈtʃæsi/) consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the under part of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame (on which the body is mounted) with the wheels and machinery and many body panels as the Range Rover The Range Rover is a four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle produced by Land Rover in the United Kingdom, owned by the India-based Tata Motors. It was first introduced in 1970 and is still in production today. There have so far been three major generations. The original model was known simply as the Range Rover until almost the end of its life,. The Ninety/One Ten range was fitted with the new diesel engine and renamed the Defender The product of continued development of the original Land Rover Series I launched in 1948, it uses the basic yet robust underpinnings of a ladder frame chassis and aluminium body and is available in a huge variety of body types from the manufacturer, plus many more specialist versions such as fire engines in 1990. An all-new Range Rover The Range Rover is a four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle produced by Land Rover in the United Kingdom, owned by the India-based Tata Motors. It was first introduced in 1970 and is still in production today. There have so far been three major generations. The original model was known simply as the Range Rover until almost the end of its life, was launched in 1994, together with an improved Discovery which maintained high sales. A fourth model, the 'mini-SUV A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. Usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle, some SUVs include the towing capacity of a pickup truck with the passenger-' Freelander The Land Rover Freelander is a compact crossover SUV or "lifestyle 4WD" made by the British company Land Rover; a subsidiary of Tata Motors. The current generation is sold as the LR2 in North America, as opposed to Freelander 2 in Europe. It is built on a unibody structure unlike traditional SUVs which use the more rugged body-on-frame was introduced in 1998 and replaced the Discovery as Europe's best-selling 4x4 vehicle.
MG
The MG MG Cars is best known for its two-seat open sports cars, but MG also produced saloons and coupés. More recently, the MG marque has also been used on sportier versions of other models belonging to the parent company badge-engineering project (first implemented by Austin Rover in 1982) was ended in 1991 despite some reasonable success for its Maestro and Montego ranges (the MG Metro had been discontinued after the facelift in 1990). The MG badge was revived in 1992 on the RV8 The MGB is a sports car launched by MG Cars in May 1962 to replace the MGA and manufactured until 22 October 1980—originally by the British Motor Corporation and later by its successors. MGB production continued throughout restructuring of the British motor industry, and the parent company’s transition from BMC to British Motor Holdings and to - an updated MGB The MGB is a sports car launched by MG Cars in May 1962 to replace the MGA and manufactured until 22 October 1980—originally by the British Motor Corporation and later by its successors. MGB production continued throughout restructuring of the British motor industry, and the parent company’s transition from BMC to British Motor Holdings and to which made use of a 3.5 V8 Range Rover The Range Rover is a four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle produced by Land Rover in the United Kingdom, owned by the India-based Tata Motors. It was first introduced in 1970 and is still in production today. There have so far been three major generations. The original model was known simply as the Range Rover until almost the end of its life, power unit, but lacked modern refinements that were expected in similarly-priced sports car of its era. The car didn't sell as strongly as earlier MG sports car, and production had ended by 1995.
The "real" rebirth of MG sports cars occurred in 1995, when the MG F was launched. Powered by a 1.8 16-valve mid-mounted engine, it was an instant hit with buyers thanks to its distinctive styling and excellent ride and handling. It was a huge success in the roadster renaissance of the late 1990s, despite some buyers being let down by lacklusture build quality and reliability.
Corporate history
Rover Group Plc was formed by renaming BL Plc in 1986. It changed its name again in 1989 to Rover Group Holdings Limited and then in 1995 to BMW (UK) Holdings Limited [1].
In 1988, the Rover Group was sold to British Aerospace British Aerospace was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. In 1999 it purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc to form BAE Systems for £150 million. BAe later sold the Group to BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), (literally English: Bavarian Motor Works) is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the MINI brand, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands. BMW is known for its for £800 million in 1994.[3]
In March 2000, BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), (literally English: Bavarian Motor Works) is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the MINI brand, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands. BMW is known for its announced its plans to sell the Rover Group. Within two months, the sale of the group had been completed. After negotiations with Alchemy Partners broke down, the Rover 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. It started building motorcycles and Rover cars, using their established marque with the and MG MG Cars is best known for its two-seat open sports cars, but MG also produced saloons and coupés. More recently, the MG marque has also been used on sportier versions of other models belonging to the parent company car business was purchased by the Phoenix Consortium, who continued to build cars at the Longbridge plant The Longbridge plant is an industrial site situated in the Longbridge area of Birmingham, England. Opened in 1905, Longbridge was once the largest manufacturing plant in the world. During the 20th Century the site employed many thousands of people, central to the economy of the local area. Longbridge has produced a wide variety of products, - including the original Mini for the final few months of its 41-year production life. The business operated as MG Rover Group MG Rover was the last domestically owned mass-production car manufacturer in the British motor industry. The company was formed when BMW sold the car-making and engine manufacturing assets of the original Rover Group to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000, with ownership of the Rover brand being retained by BMW but licensed to MG Rover. Land Rover Land Rover is currently a luxury-type four-wheel drive, all-terrain vehicle manufacturer, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. It operates as the Jaguar Land Rover business unit by Tata Motors of India was sold to the Ford Motor Company The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation 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, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars in Sweden, and a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK. Ford', while BMW retained the rights to build the new 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 (that allowed 80% of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage) influenced a generation of car-makers. The that was due for a launch a year later. BMW also retained the rights to the Riley and Triumph marques.
After a financial crisis and talks of acquisition or investment by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation failed in early 2005, the MG Rover Group went into receivership. After liquidation, SAIC ended up with ownership of the rights to the Rover 75 (though not under that name), as well as rights to the Austin, Morris, and Wolseley marques. Nanjing Automobile Corporation bought the rights to the MG name. In December 2007, Nanjing and SAIC announced their merger, thus reuniting many of the marques of the former Austin Rover group.
Sponsorship
Rover Group sponsored the Scottish football team Dundee United during the early to mid 1990s, including their Scottish FA Cup triumph in 1994.
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