Austin Rover Group

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For other uses, see Austin Group (disambiguation).

The famous "Chevron" logo of ARG

The Austin Rover Group (ARG) 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 MG, Triumph, Morris, Riley and Wolseley marques now effectively dead, the new, leaner car business was rechristened as the Austin Rover Group.

[edit] History

Austin Montego

Rover 213SE

1986 Rover 820Si

Following the collapse of the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) in 1975 and the infamous Ryder Report on the ailing firm, the resulting government bail-out and nationalisation saw the company being renamed to British Leyland (BL).

However, the huge industrial relations problems that had plagued the company up to the nationalisation continued to escalate throughout the late 1970s. The problems centered around Longbridge union leader and shop steward Derek Robinson (nicknamed "Red Robbo" by the British press). Robinson had assumed a greater level of control over BL than any of its senior managers, and his network of union leaders in the various BL plants could bring the company to its knees at his whim. The Labour administration of the time ran out of patience, and appointed South African-born corporate troubleshooter Sir Michael Edwardes to turn BL around.

Edwardes' first job was to curb the excessive amount of power that the trade unions had over the company. After discovering Robinson's links with various Communist groups, the company amassed sufficient evidence claiming that his actions were intended to deliberately damage both BL itself and the UK economy. As a result of this, he was dismissed in 1979. Secondly, Edwardes began a ruthless programme of factory closures and sell-offs. The biggest casualties of this were the MG assembly plant in Abingdon, and the Triumph plants in Speke and Canley. Thirdly, he entered into a collaborative agreement with Honda, which paved the way for the joint development of a range of cars which spearheaded the company's revival in the 1980s and 1990s. Lastly, the number of BL dealerships in the UK was trimmed down drastically.

Following the renaming of its parent company, BL, in 1986 to the Rover Group, and the subsequent sell-off of its truck and bus businesses, and takeover in 1988 by British Aerospace, and then in 1995 by BMW, ARG was eventually sold back into private ownership and became MG Rover.

[edit] Austin Rover Group timeline

1981: BL Cars Ltd is renamed Austin Rover Group Ltd. Launch of the Triumph Acclaim, successor the Dolomite and restyled version of the Japanese-built Honda Ballade.
1982: Launch of Austin Ambassador, a facelifted version of the discontinued Leyland Princess.
1982: Michael Edwardes steps down as Chairman, and is replaced by Harold Musgrove. MG badge is relaunched, two years after being discontinued, on the MG Metro 1300.
1983: Launch of Austin Maestro, which replaces the 10-year-old Allegro. The MG badge is used for the MG Maestro 1600 sports model.
1984: Launch of the second Honda-ARG joint venture car, the Mk.1 Rover 200-series. It succeeds the Triumph Acclaim, and in doing so spells the end of the Triumph marque.
1984: Launch of the Austin Montego as successor to the Morris Ital. This means the end of the Morris marque after 72 years. The MG Maestro 1600 is shelved and replaced by the MG Maestro 2.0 EFi, which has a fuel injected 2.0 unit in place of the previous 1.6 twin-carburettor.
1985: Production begins at Cowley of the Honda Ballade, which is visually identical to the Rover 200 but uses some of its own engines and has a higher level of specification. The MG version of the Montego goes on sale.
1986: Launch of the Rover 800-series, jointly developed with Honda and based on the Honda Legend; Rover SD1 production ceases after 10 years.
1986: BL renamed Rover Group PLC.
1987: Unipart, ARG's spare parts brand is sold off via management buyout.
1987: The Austin marque is shelved, with the Metro, Maestro and Montego ranges now becoming Rovers.
1988: Rover Group PLC sold by British Government to British Aerospace.
1989: Austin Rover Group is re-branded Rover Group. Its final launch was the MG Maestro Turbo, powered by a 2.0 turbocharged fuel injection engine and one of the fastest hatchbacks in the world with a top speed of nearly 130mph.