 | |
| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Founded | December 1905 (1905-12) |
| Founder | Herbert Austin |
| Defunct | 1952 (1952) |
| Fate | Merged withMorris Motors |
| Successor | British Motor Corporation |
| Headquarters | Longbridge, England |
| Products | Automobiles /Rover /Austin Rover /MG /Morris |
Logo of the Austin automotive brand. | |
| Product type | Automotivemarque |
|---|---|
| Owner | SAIC Motor |
| Discontinued | 1988 (1988) |
| Previous owners | Austin Motor Company (1905–1952) BMC (1952–1967) British Leyland (Austin Rover) (1967–1988) Rover Group (1988–2005) Nanjing Automobile Group (2005–2007) SAIC Motor (2007–Present) |
The Austin Motor Company Limited was a British manufacturer ofmotor vehicles, founded in 1905 byHerbert Austin in Longbridge. In 1952 it was merged withMorris Motors Limited in the new holding companyBritish Motor Corporation (BMC) Limited, keeping its separate identity. The marque Austin was used until 1987 by BMC's successorsBritish Leyland andRover Group. The trademark is currently owned by the Chinese firmSAIC Motor, after being transferred from bankrupt subsidiaryNanjing Automotive which had acquired it withMG Rover Group in July 2005.
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While running theoriginal Wolseley business, which had a highly cyclical sales pattern, Herbert Austin searched for products with a steady demand. Starting in 1895, he built three cars in his free time. They were among Britain's first cars. The third car, a four-wheeler, was completed in 1899. By 1901, his fellow directors could not see future profit in motor vehicles and so with their blessing and the backing of theVickers brothers Austin started a separate car manufacturing business still using the name Wolseley.[2]
In 1905, he fell out with Thomas and Albert Vickers over engine design. Leaving his creation,Wolseley, which he had made into Britain's largest motor vehicle manufacturer, Austin obtained the backing of steel magnate Frank Kayser for his own enterprise. Kayser provided funds through mortgages and loans, debentures and guarantees to theMidland Bank thereby allowing Austin to keep virtually total ownership of the business through his personal savings. Further assistance came fromDunlop patent holderHarvey du Cros.[2] However, Austin's great rival,William Morris, was able to enter the industry proper (he first repaired cars) a little later funding his operation entirely from his own resources.
In November 1905, Herbert Austin acquired a disused printing works which was less than a decade old. It was located seven miles south-west ofBirmingham in the small village ofLongbridge (then still withinWorcestershire). The following month The Austin Motor Company Limited was incorporated. In the last week of April 1906, a large body of motorists travelled to Longbridge "where snow lay full three inches deep on the ground and was still falling fast" to see the new Austin car, a conventional four-cylinder model with chain drive. It was available as a 15/20 hp[1] complete at £500 (chassis, £425) and a 25/30 hp for £650 (chassis, £550). The sole concessionaire for sale of the cars was MrHarvey Du Cros junior.[3]
Two things were noticeable about Austin's new design. He had parted from the Vickers brothers because he had refused to use the then more conventional vertical engine in Wolseley cars. His new car had a vertical engine and, in all but minor detail, was identical to the English-builtClément-Gladiators assembled in the same factory.[4]
A further injection of capital was needed in 1906 and William Harvey Du Cros (1846–1918) joined the board of directors. After that Harvey Du Cros junior of theSwift Cycle Co and Austin each held approximately half of the ordinary capital. Herbert Austin remained chairman and managing director.[2]
Austin's cars, like Wolseley's, were luxury vehicles. The published customer list included Russian Grand Dukes, Princesses, Bishops, high officials of theSpanish government and a long list of Britain's highest nobility.[5]
| 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | 14,771 | 84,930 | 119,744 | 169,821 | 209,048 | 276,195 | 354,209 | 425,641 |
| Cars | 31 | 180 | 218 | 1,107 | 1,500 | |||
| Employees | 270 | 1,500[6] | 1,800[7] | 2,300 |
Sources[5][8]Note: in 1912 Wolseley sold 3,000 cars.
In February 1914, Austin-manufactured bodies in tourer, limousine, landaulette and coupé styles could be provided with engines of 15, 20, 30 and 60 hp.[1] Ambulances and commercial vehicles were also provided.[5]
Austin became a Public Listed Company in 1914 when the capital was increased to £650,000 (equivalent to £63,563,900.77 in 2025). > At that point, in quantity of the number of vehicles produced, it probably ranked fifth afterWolseley (still largest),Humber,Sunbeam andRover.[2]
The Austin Motor Company expanded and benefitted enormously during theFirst World War fulfilling UK Government contracts for aircraft, shells, heavy guns and generating sets and 1,600 three-ton trucks most of which were sent toRussia.[8] The workforce expanded from around 2,500 to 22,000 members of staff.
After the Great War ended, Austin decided on a one-model policy based on the 3620 cc 20 hp engine. Versions included cars, commercials and even a tractor; but sales volumes were never enough to fill the vast factory built during wartime. The company went intoreceivership in 1921 but rose again from the downturn after financial restructuring. Though Herbert Austin remained as chairman, he was no longer managing director and from that time onwards; decisions were made by a committee.[2]
Critical to the recovery was the appointment in 1922 of a new finance director, Ernest Payton with the backing of the Midland Bank, and a new works director in charge of car production, Carl Engelbach, at the insistence of the creditors' committee. This triumvirate of Austin, Payton and Engelbach steered the company's fortunes through the interwar years.
In a quest to expand market share, smaller cars were introduced, the 1661 ccTwelve in 1922 and, later the same year, theSeven, an inexpensive, simple small car and one of the earliest to be directed at a mass market. One of the reasons for a market demand for a car like the Austin 7 was the Britishtax code. In 1930, every personal car was taxed by its engine size, which in American dollars was $2.55 per cubic inch of piston displacement. As an example, the owner of an Austin 7 in England, which sold for approximately $455, would have to pay a yearly engine tax of $39. In comparison, the owner in England of aFord Model-A would have to pay $120 per year in an engine tax. And this system of engine displacement tax was common in other European nations as well in the 1930s. At one point, the "Baby Austin" was built under licence by the fledglingBMW of Germany (as theDixi); by the Japanese manufacturerDatsun; as theBantam in the United States; and as theRosengart inFrance. In 1930, the Austin 7 was the most produced car in 1930.[9]
TheAmerican Austin Car Company struggled to sell tiny Austin cars in the US market. It operated as a largely independent subsidiary from 1929-34 was revived after bankruptcy under the name "American Bantam" from 1937-41. They became best known as the first company to submit the Bantam Reconnaissance Car working prototype, saving time by using Austin nose and wing parts of what would evolve into the extremely successful and iconic WWIIWillys MB "Jeep". The design was unfortunately handed over to Willys and Ford for production with a revised nose and fender design, while Bantam would largely just manufacture trailers during the war.
With the help of theSeven, Austin weathered the worst of the Great Depression and remained profitable throughout the 1930s, producing a wider range of cars which was steadily updated by the introduction of all-steel bodies,Girling brakes, andsynchromesh gearboxes. However, all the engines retained the sameside-valve configuration. Deputy chairman Ernest Payton became chairman in 1941 upon the death of Lord Austin. In 1938,Leonard Lord joined the company board and became chairman in 1946 upon the death of Ernest Payton.
In 1932,Datsun built cars infringing Austin patents. From 1934, Datsun began to build Sevens under licence and this operation became the greatest success of Austin's overseas licensing of its Seven. It marked the beginning of Datsun's international success.[8]
In 1952, Austin entered into another agreement with Datsun for assembly of 2,000 imported Austins from "knock-down kits", to be sold in Japan under the Austin trademark. The agreement called for Nissan to make all Austin parts locally within three years, a goal Nissan met. Nissan produced and marketed Austins for seven years. The agreement also gave Nissan rights to use Austin patents, which Nissan used in developing its own engines for its Datsun line of cars. In 1953, British-built Austins were assembled and sold, but by 1955, theAustin A50 – completely assembled by Nissan and featuring a slightly larger body with 1489 cc engine – was on the market in Japan. Nissan produced 20,855 Austins between 1953-59.[10]
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Duringthe Second World War Austin continued building cars but also made trucks and aircraft, includingShort Stirling andAvro Lancaster bombers.
The post-war car range was announced in 1944, and production started in 1945. The immediate post-war range was mainly similar to that of the late 1930s but did include the 16 hp, significant for having the company's firstoverhead valve engine.
Austin J40 pedal cars were manufactured during this era.
From late 1950 to mid-1952 products, brochures and advertisements displayed in flowing scriptAustin of England as if in response to Morris'Nuffield Organization. It fell out of use with the financial merger with Morris in BMC.
In 1952, The Austin Motor Company Limited merged ownership, but not identity, with long-term rivalMorris Motors Limited, becomingThe British Motor Corporation Limited, withLeonard Lord in charge.William Morris was first chairman but soon retired. Lord, who had stormed out of Morris declaring he would "take Cowley apart brick by brick",[citation needed] ensured Austin was the dominant partner and its (more recently designed OHV) engines were adopted for most of the cars. Various models followed the Morris policy and becamebadge-engineered versions of each other.
In 1952 Austin made a deal withDonald Healey leading to a new marque,Austin-Healey, and a range of sports cars.
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With the threat to fuel supplies resulting from the 1956Suez Crisis, Lord askedAlec Issigonis, who had been with Morris from 1936 to 1952, to design a small car; the result was the revolutionaryMini, launched in 1959. The Austin version was initially called the Austin Seven, but Morris' Mini Minor name caught the public imagination and the Morris version outsold its Austin twin, so the Austin's name was changed to Mini to follow suit. In 1970,British Leyland dropped the separate Austin and Morris branding of the Mini, and it was subsequently simply "Mini", under the Austin Morris division of BLMC.
The principle of a transverse engine with gearbox in the sump and driving the front wheels was applied to larger cars, beginning with the1100 of 1963, (although the Morris-badged version was launched 13 months earlier than the Austin, in August 1962), the1800 of 1964 and theMaxi of 1969. This meant that BMC had spent 10 years developing a new range of front-drive, transverse-engined models, while most competitors had only just started to make such changes.
The big exception to this was theAustin 3-litre. Launched in 1968, it was a rear-wheel drive large car, but it shared the central section of the 1800. It was a sales disaster, with fewer than 10,000 examples being made.
BMC was the first British manufacturer to move into front-wheel drive so comprehensively.Ford did not launch its first front-drive model until 1976 (in Britain), Ford-Germany in 1962 with the Taunus 12M(P4), whileVauxhall's first front-drive model was launched in 1979 andChrysler UK's first such car was launched in 1975. Front-wheel drive was popular elsewhere in Europe, however, withRenault,Citroen andSimca all using the system at the same time or before BMC. East Germany'sTrabant used the system from 1958.[citation needed]
In September 1965 BMC completed the purchase of its major supplier,Pressed Steel. Twelve months later it completed the purchase ofJaguar and in December 1966 changed its name from BMC to BMH,British Motor Holdings Limited. In early 1968 under government pressure BMH merged withLeyland Motors Limited and Austin became a part of the largeBritish Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) combine.
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One of Austin's new models of this era was the 1973Allegro, successor to the 1100/1300 ranges. It was criticised for its bulbous styling which earned it the nickname "Flying pig" as well as the doubtful build quality and indifferent reliability.[citation needed] It was still a strong seller in Britain, although not as successful as its predecessor.
The wedge-shaped18/22 series was launched as an Austin, a Morris and a more upmarket Wolseley in 1975. But within six months, it was rechristened the Princess and wore none of the previous marque badges, becoming a marque in its own right, under the Austin Morris division of British Leyland that had been virtuallynationalised in 1975.
It was upgraded at the end of 1981 to become theAustin Ambassador (and gaining a hatchback) but by that time there was little that could be done to disguise the age of the design, and it was too late to make much of an impact on sales.
By the end of the 1970s, the future of Austin and the rest of British Leyland (now known as BL) was looking bleak.
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TheAustin Metro, launched in October 1980, was heralded as the saviour of Austin Motor Company and the whole BL combine. Twenty-one years after the launch of the Mini, it gave BL a much-needed modern supermini to compete with the recently launched likes of theFord Fiesta,Vauxhall Nova,VW Polo andRenault 5. It was an instant hit with buyers and was one of the most popular British cars of the 1980s. It was intended as a replacement for the Mini but the Mini went on to outlast it. It was facelifted in October 1984 and gained a 5-door version.
In 1982, most of the car division of the by now somewhat shrunken British Leyland (BL) company was rebranded as theAustin Rover Group, with Austin acting as the "budget" and mainstream marque to Rover's more luxurious models. TheMG badge was revived for sporty versions of the Austin models, of which the MG Metro 1300 was the first. The Morris and Triumph marques were axed in 1984.
Austin revitalised its entry into the small family-car market in March 1983 with the launch of its all-newMaestro, a spacious five-door hatchback that replaced the elderlyAllegro andMaxi and was popular in the early years of its production life, although sales had started to dip dramatically by the end of the decade.
April 1984 saw the introduction of the Maestro-derivedMontego saloon, successor to theMorris Ital. The new car received praise for its interior space and comfort as well as its handling, but early build-quality problems took time to overcome. The spacious estate version, launched six months later, was one of the most popular load carriers in Britain for several years after its launch.
In 1986, Austin Rover's holding company BL plc becameRover Group plc and wasprivatised by selling it toBritish Aerospace (BAe) in 1988.
Plans to replace the Metro with a radical new model, based on the ECV3 research vehicle and aiming for 100 mpg, led to the Austin AR6 of 1984–86, with several prototypes tested and production expected to start before the end of the decade. The desire to lose the Austin name and take Rover "upmarket" led to this project's demise in early 1987.
In 1988, the Austin badge was phased out and Austin Rover became the Rover Group from the following year. The Austin cars continued to be manufactured, although they ceased to be Austins. They became "marque-less" in their home market with bonnet badges the same shape as the Rover longship badge but without "Rover" written on them. Instead any badging just showed the model of the car: a Montego of this era, for instance, would have a grille badge simply saying "Montego", while the rear badges just said "Montego" and the engine size/trim level. A revamped Metro was launched in May 1990 and got the newK-series engine. It then became the Rover Metro.
Despite sales of both the Maestro and Montego being in decline by 1990, these ranges continued in production until 1994 and never wore a Rover badge on their bonnets in Britain. They were, however, sometimes referred to as "Rovers" in the press and elsewhere. Their place in the Rover range was gradually filled by a new generation of Rover models.
The rights to the Austin name passed toBritish Aerospace and then to BMW when each bought the Rover Group. The rights were subsequently sold toMG Rover, created when BMW sold the business. Following MG Rover's collapse and sale,Nanjing Automobile Group owned the Austin name and Austin's historic assembly plant in Longbridge. At the Nanjing International Exhibition in May 2006, Nanjing announced it might use the Austin name on some of the revived MG Rover models, at least in the Chinese market. Nanjing Automobile Group itself later merged withSAIC Motor.
In 2012, a new "Austin Motor Company" was registered by former Longbridge worker Steve Morgan. Morgan had no rights to the brand itself and stated that he had no intention to trade, but rather registered the name as an effort to preserve the memory of the company.[11] The company was dissolved in 2014.[importance?]
In 2015, the "Austin Motor Company", alongside the 1930's "Flying A" logo was registered by British Engineer John Stubbs, owner of specialist suspension company Black Art Designs.[12] By 2021, a prototype electric vehicle named the Austin Arrow had been revealed and was seeking investors, with a supposed release date around late 2022.[13] The revived Austin Motor Company subsequently revealed the Arrow 2, a two seater version of the Arrow, alongside announcing an electric commercial Austin van to be released approximately 18-24 months after the launch of the Arrow 1 and 2.[non-primary source needed]
By May 2023, a production line had been set up by MJP MOTORS based inRajkot, India.[14] The Austin Arrow subsequently entered production in October 2023.[15][user-generated source]
In July 2025, ex-McLaren Automotive, Automobili Lamborghini SpA and Group Lotus veteran senior director, Nigel Gordon-Stewart was appointed as Chairman and CEO of the Austin Motor Company Limited.
Austin started his business in an abandoned print works atLongbridge, Birmingham. Due to its strategic advantages overMorris's Cowley plant, Longbridge becameBritish Leyland's main factory in the early 1970s. Following the Austin marque's discontinuance in 1987,Rover andMG continued to use the plant. The collapse ofMG Rover meant it was not used from 2005 until MG production resumed from 2008 until 2016. The plant is currently leased by SAIC as a research and development facility for itsMG Motor Subsidiary.
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For a list see :Austin Commercial Vehicles
Duringthe First World War Austin built aircraft under licence, including theRoyal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a, but also produced a number of its own designs. None of these progressed past the prototype stage. They included:
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