Around the world
Around the world : Malta
Malta: that beautiful enclave in the Mediterranean is a favourite for tourists all over Europe. Unbeknown to many, it was also host to an assembly operation that saw the construction of Triumphs and Morrises among others. Christopher Camilleri takes up the story, with new images from Andreas Lampka… Carmaking was late coming to Malta: The [...]
March 11, 2013
· 
Keith Adams · 
18 Comments
The Bus Section : Leyland Atlantean
Mike Humble Atlantean: bearing the weight of the world Should you be of a certain age, a bus still rustles up a mental picture of something big and noisy with large 22.5in tyres that rattles your fillings and windows with the thumping growling big block Gardner or Leyland 680 power unit. The sights, sounds and [...]
March 4, 2013
· Mike Humble · 29 Comments
Around the world : Sipani Automobiles
Every car company is allowed at least one or two failures, but for the unfortunate Indian car company Sipani this would prove to be the fate of every model they made in their quarter-century of car building. Based in Bangalore, India, Sipani had its origins in Sunrise Automotive Industries Ltd (SAIL), which was set up [...]
January 19, 2013
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
Around the world : Australian Chryslers
Chrysler’s attempted Australian invasion of the UK The history of Australian Chrysler cars in Britain has its roots in America – a truly multi-national tale! The story starts in the pre-war era when Walter P Chrysler started to expand his rapidly growing American company across the world. By the early 1930s, Chrysler had set-up an [...]
January 19, 2013
· Keith Adams · 13 Comments
Unsung Heroes : Leyland-DAF/LDV 400 – vantastic success!
A variation on a theme of our popular Unsung Heroes section. This time we pay respect to what was once ‘The biggest selling and biggest sized van in the UK’. Words: Mike Humble It’s Britain’s biggest van! Funny as it seems, but to feature a commercial vehicle in the ‘Unsung Heroes’ section actually makes perfect [...]
July 26, 2012
· Mike Humble · 22 Comments
News : MG6 arrives in New Zealand
Keith Adams The first MG6s have arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, as the marque returns to the country after an absence of over five years. MG’s importer, Kerry Cheyne, long-time supporter of the marque (and former owner of one of the only MG ZT 260 V8s with automatic transmission) is happy to be selling MGs [...]
January 29, 2012
· Keith Adams · 56 Comments
News : Production-ready MG5 spied in China
ADAM SLOMAN The new medium-sized MG has been unveiled, camouflage free, in these Chinese spy-shots showcased on China Car Times. The MG5 is set for launch in China in early March, with engines likely to include the new small engine 1.5-litre engine in both naturally aspirated and turbo forms, the 1.8-litre TCI-tech and the as-yet [...]
January 12, 2012
· Adam Sloman · 80 Comments
In production : Seneffe
BL Belgium press kit: Celebration of the 500,000th car assembled in Seneffe, 10 May 1977 // Translation by Dimitri Urbain, original material supplied by André Vermeersch The Seneffe plant is the main British Leyland investment outside the UK. On top of being an assembly plant, Seneffe is now BL’s unique distribution centre for its largest [...]
January 11, 2012
· Keith Adams · 21 Comments
Around the world : Overseas operations
Overseas Operations Below is a list of the operations managed by British Leyland International during the early 1970s. I have included the autonomous distribution companies, CKD operations, and associated manufacturers. If you know of any not included or can provide further information on any of the below, please contact us with any information you might [...]
October 2, 2011
· Keith Adams · 2 Comments
Around the world : Yugoslavia
Final assembly of CKD Austin 1300s began at a plant in Novo Mesto during 1969, with the cars arriving from Longbridge almost complete; indeed, the chassis plates of these models identified them as having come from Longbridge Yugoslav 1100s IN 1967 in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, IMV (Industrija Motornih Vozil – Industry of Motor Vehicles) signed [...]
October 2, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Around the world : The Netherlands
The Netherlands saw CKD production of BMC cars, alongside the usual versions imported from the UK and Belgium… Roderik Tonen tells the story. IN 1949 the Dutch Morris importer, J.J. Molenaar, started local assembly the Morris Minor, Morris Isis and Morris Oxford. The operation proved to be something of a success, and by 1959 assembly [...]
October 2, 2011
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
Around the world : Ireland
Ireland was an interesting market for BMC>Rover, as for a short while, not only were they importers, but they were a CKD assembly operation. Andrew Ryan takes up the story… The spares and service depot of Standard Triumph (Ireland) Ltd, in the mid-Sixties. Austin & Morris had two separate importers/assemblers. For Austin, there was Lincoln [...]
October 2, 2011
· Keith Adams · 2 Comments
Around the world : Denmark
As was the case in the UK, many export markets suffered badly during the 1960s and 1970s. Denmark is a case in point, where the growth and success of the early 1960s gave way to tragedy in later years. Former BMC/BL dealer Erik Løye explains how it all went wrong… “From BMC to Rover” in [...]
October 2, 2011
· Keith Adams · One Comment
Around the world : Venezuela
The Chilean BL operation was the first attempt to produce the Mini in South America, but by no means was it the last… Story told by Rodrigo Toledo. The ‘Brick’ moves to Venezuela… AT the time that BMC and British Leyland were building cars in Chile, Venezuela was, by far, the most developed country in [...]
October 2, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Around the world : Spain
Prompted by Spanish government initiatives to promote industrialisation, Rover and BMC independently embarked on Spanish ventures. Authi A couple of years before the merger that would bring Rover and BMH into the same fold, BMC established its own Spanish arm, known as Authi. This page describes the various ADO16-based models they produced, and also contains [...]
October 2, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Around the world : South Africa
British car production in South Africa following the end of the Second World War initially amounted to CKD (Completely Knocked Down) production of Austins and Standard Vanguards by local producers. Morris entered the fray in 1948, with the first imported Minors. This was a small beginning, but because of the growth of the South African [...]
October 2, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Around the world : New Zealand
The history of BMC>Rover is certainly not limited to the UK, and at the height of the post-war years of the ‘Empire’, there were production facilities all over the world. Ian Walker comprehensively charts the history of one such operation: the New Zealand market. Rover down under… Up to 1930: Early days Austin The Austin [...]
September 3, 2011
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
Around the world : Hindustan Motors
Hindustan has a long history of building British-designed cars in India, starting with the Morris Oxford in 1942. Its bloodline would survive for a very long time… A potted history of Hindustan Hindustan Motors was set up during the Second World War in order to produce motor vehicles for the burgeoning Indian middle-classes. Because of [...]
September 3, 2011
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
Around the world : Columbia
A little-known incursion by BMC under the marque Austin into the South American continent was the assembly of Austin commercial vehicles and Gipsy off road cars in a factory near Bogotá, in Colombia, in the early 1960s. This is the story, as told by Graham Arnold. The Austin Motor Company in Colombia A very short-lived [...]
September 3, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Around the world : Chile
Chile’s BMC operation remained a specialist small-scale facility throughout its lifetime. However, what marked out Chilean Minis and ADO16s from their counterparts from across the globe was that they were produced in fibreglass… Story told by Rodrigo Toledo. BMC in Chile: A potted history The World Cup football competition was held in Chile in 1962. [...]
September 3, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
