Rover Group

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The Rover Group Limited

Industry	Automobiles
Predecessor	Austin Rover (until 1989)

The Rover Group plc was the British vehicle manufacturing conglomerate known as "BL plc" until 1986 (formerly

.

The Rover Group was owned by British Aerospace (BAe) from 1988 to 1994. In 1994, BAe sold the remaining car business of Rover Group plc to the German company BMW. The group was then broken up in 2000, when Ford acquired the Land Rover division, with the Rover and MG marques continuing with the much smaller MG Rover Group until 2005. Ownership of the original Rover Group marques is currently split between BMW (Germany), SAIC (China), and Tata Motors (India), the latter owning the Rover marque itself with its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover owning much of the assets of the historic Rover company.

History

The Rover Group plc was formed by renaming BL plc in 1986, soon after the appointment by Margaret Thatcher of Canadian Graham Day to the position of chairman and managing director of BL.^[3]

After divesting of its commercial vehicle and bus manufacturing divisions (

MD of Rover cars.

The group changed its name again in 1989 to Rover Group Holdings Limited,[5] whilst the car manufacturing subsidiary Austin Rover Group Limited shortened its name to Rover Group Limited. By this time, only the Rover, Land Rover and MG brands were still active – Austin had already been dropped in 1987, because it was felt by Graham Day's new management that many of the other marque names within the former BL had been tarnished by their association with the poor quality cars of the 1970s.

The strategy going forward, therefore, was to concentrate on the upmarket Rover brand instead. Two vehicles originally badged as Austins, the Montego saloon and Maestro hatchback, became "marque-less" 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. When the Austin Metro was facelifted for the 1990 model year, it was rebadged as the Rover Metro.

On 31 January 1994 BAe sold its 80% stake in the company on to German vehicle manufacturer

models remained in place.

Millions of pounds of investment by BMW failed to turn the company into profit.

which had been divested from British Leyland in 1984 and purchased by Ford in 1989.

Subsequent developments

All remaining Rover volume production at Cowley (essentially now just the Rover 75 as the Rover 600/800 ranges had already been discontinued by this point), was moved to Longbridge, as BMW demolished the Cowley and Swindon plants before starting construction of Plant Oxford, the new home of MINI production. Much smaller than its predecessors, the MG Rover Group struggled as it continued the heritage of building cars at the Longbridge plant. Adhering to UK regulations, BMW guaranteed that Phoenix Venture Holdings (initially named MG Rover Holdings) would have enough money to keep MG Rover Group in business for at least 3 years following the sale. The agreed "dowry" from BMW included a £427million interest-free loan and stocks of cars. MG Rover's short-term plan was to expand the MG range with sporting versions of existing Rovers, introduce new versions of the Rover 25, 45 and 75 models, reengineer and redesign the MG F, and eventually replace the entire model range with new cars developed through a joint venture with another carmaker.

The MG Rover range initially consisted of five cars: the classic

.

Although the new company owned the intellectual property rights for MG and Rover-branded vehicles, including the Rover 75 that was developed under BMW ownership, the Rover marque was a property licensed from BMW. The rights to the Riley and Triumph marques, along with former Rover Group trademarks Metro and Maxi, were also strategically retained by BMW, as it believed these names are associated with the heritage of sports saloon car manufacturers, or with the heritage of Mini. MG Rover's best year for car sales was their first full year of business, in 2001 – when they sold over 170,000 cars.

Following the collapse of a proposed venture with

for £57.5M in a lease-back deal.

SAIC were to have a 70% stake in this company in return for a £1 billion investment, with MG Rover owning the remaining 30%. However, the National Development and Reform Commission held the opinion that if BMW could not make a success of Rover, then it would be hard for SAIC to do so. Although the joint venture was not yet finalized, MG Rover sold the rights to manufacture Rover's 25 and 75 models and the Powertrain Ltd business to SAIC for £67M, to help keep the business afloat in the face of falling sales.

After MG Rover Group's financial crisis and talks of acquisition or investment by

bought the rights to the MG marque, and the leftover assets of MG Rover. A 33-year deal was signed in February 2006 between Nanjing Auto and St. Modwen Properties covering the lease of 105 acres (a quarter of the total area of the Longbridge plant) but including the two main car assembly plants, the paint shop and administrative offices at a rent of around £1.8 million a year. In December 2007, Nanjing and SAIC announced their merger, which reunited some of the marques that had formed Rover Group, and ownership of the Longbridge plant became a SAIC controlled facility.

Despite BMW agreeing to sell the Rover marque to SAIC,

marques were transferred to TATA Motors.

Timeline

• 1986: BL plc renamed as The Rover Group plc
  Rover 800 – the result of a joint venture with Honda which led to the manufacture of that model and the Honda Legend
• 1987: The Leyland Trucks division (which by then included Freight Rover) merged with DAF as DAF NV (which traded as Leyland DAF in UK) with the Rover Group holding a 40% shareholding, floated in 1989. After being declared bankrupt in 1993 the DAF NV was split into three independent companies; the UK van operation became LDV, the Dutch operation resumed trading as DAF Trucks and the UK truck operation resumed trading as Leyland Trucks. Both truck operations were later acquired by Paccar of the US
  Unipart spare parts division sold in a management buyout
  The Austin marque is shelved and the remaining models, the Metro, Maestro and Montego continue without a brand name until the Metro was relaunched as a Rover in 1990
• 1988: Leyland Bus sold to Volvo Buses^[10]
  Rover Group privatised; sold to British Aerospace, fastback version of the Rover 800 launches
• 1989: The volume car manufacturing subsidiary Austin Rover Group Ltd shortens its name to Rover Group Ltd following the shelving of the Austin brand two years earlier.
  The new
  Rover 200 goes on sale, abandoning the four-door saloon bodystyle in favour of a three and five-door hatchback, the former to launch later. It is also sold as the Honda Concerto. Maestro and Montego
  production is scaled down as a result
• 1990: The
  Metro
  , which features modernised body styling, a reworked interior and a new range of engines. A GTi model replaces the MG version. A three-door Rover 200 also launches
• 1991: The Rover 800 receives a major facelift. The MG versions of the Maestro and Montego are discontinued
• 1992: Cabriolet and coupe versions of the Rover 200 are launched. A coupe version of the Rover 800 also launches
• 1993: The Rover 600 is launched, based on the Honda Accord but restyled and using a mixture of Honda and Rover's own engines
• 1994:
  31 January – British Aerospace announces the sale of its 80% majority share of Rover Group to BMW^[6]
  21 February – Honda announces it is selling its 20% share of Rover Group causing major problems in Rover's supply chain which was reliant on Honda^[6]
  An estate version of the Rover 400 called the Tourer is launched, along with an updated Metro which sees the 14-year-old nameplate shelved and rebadged as the Rover 100. Maestro and Montego production also ends.
• 1995: Rover Group Holdings plc renamed as BMW (UK) HOLDINGS LIMITED
  MG F
  goes on sale, bringing back the MG badge on a mass-production sports car for the first time since 1980
• 1996: A saloon version of the new Rover 400 launches
• 1997: Production of the Rover 100 ends
• 1998: The Rover 75 is launched as a successor to both the Rover 600 and Rover 800 and goes on sale the following year.
  The cabriolet and coupe versions of the previous Rover 200 and the Tourer estate version of the previous Rover 400 end production, as does the Rover 800
• 1999: The Rover 200 and Rover 400 are facelifted to be rebadged as the Rover 25 and Rover 45 respectively Production ends of the Rover 600
• 2000: BMW retains both the
  Mini marque and the Cowley plant; launches the new Mini. Sales would begin in Summer 2001.
  Land Rover (including the Solihull plant) sold by BMW to Ford for £1.8 billion.
  Remainder of the company (including MG, Rover and the Longbridge plant) sold by BMW to Phoenix Venture Holdings for a nominal £10 and becomes the MG Rover Group^[11]

Models

Rover 800 series

Main article:

Rover 800

Rover 820

Although the Rover 800 went on sale shortly after BL plc changed its name to Rover Group in July 1986, it had been developed in conjunction with Honda (whose corresponding model was the Legend). It was initially available as a saloon with a fastback version launching in 1988. It sold well among buyers in the executive market, with a facelift in November 1991 and the introduction of a coupe version a few months later. 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. The 800 series was updated again in 1996 which gave the car a chrome and silver grille and a lot more standard kit. By its demise in 1999, it was looking considerably dated and was replaced with the 75.

Rover 200 series

Rover 200

(1989–1995)

Rover 200

(1995–1999)

The 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, the former to launch later, instead of a four-door saloon which would become the Rover 400. It used a new range of 16-valve K Series petrol engines as well as a

, which offered a higher level of equipment but only achieved a fraction of its sales.

Rover 400 series

Main article:

Rover 400 Series

Rover 400

(1990–1995)

Rover 400

(1995–1999)

In April 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 storage space. It also replaced the saloon version of the previous 200. It was sold as an alternative to the likes of the

Rover 45

, and at the same time the estate version of the original 400 was dropped.

Rover Metro/Rover 100

Main article:

Rover Metro

Rover Metro

(1990–1994)

May 1990 saw Rover give the decade-old

(essentially another update of the original 1980 design) in December 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. Its demise marked the passing of the last design from the British Leyland era of the company with production ceasing at the end of 1997.

Rover 600 series

Rover entered the compact executive market in April 1993 with its

. This was down in part to the pricing and model restrictions BMW (Rover group's owner) had placed on the 600 series and its very close ties with the more downmarket Honda Accord. Production ended in early 1999 to make way for the new 75 model.

Maestro/Montego

Unlike the Metro, which had received a major reengineering and was rebadged a Rover, the two last bastions from the British Leyland era had become increasingly uncompetitive in the marketplace and were kept in production merely to cater for the budget end of the market and for sale to fleets, as the newer Rover badged models were pushed further upmarket compared to rivals from Ford and General Motors (Vauxhall/Opel). The MG and high specification variants were both dropped from the Maestro/Montego ranges in 1991 so as not to overlap with the more expensive Rovers. Both had already lost their Austin badging in 1987 and were now known simply by their model names. Although the Montego had received a package of revisions for the 1989 model year, the Maestro remained essentially unchanged until 1992 when it received the Montego's revised dashboard. The Maestro/Montego production line was effectively closed in 1993 (leading to the eventual sale and demolition of the old Morris Motors' works at Cowley in which it was located), and the last cars were essentially hand built on a purpose-built line. By 1994 the Montego saloon was only available to special order, and the Maestro was produced in basic 'Clubman' trim with either 1.3 petrol or 2.0 diesel power.

Both models were discontinued in December 1994, being replaced by the new Honda Civic based Rover 400 series.

In September 1995, production of the Maestro was moved to

(CKD) kit form by Rodacar AD. By April 1996, around 2,000 vehicles had been produced before the company ceased its operations due to high import costs of the components and low demand for the cars.

In May 1997, Parkway Services based in

. The conversions involved a brand new dash, right-hand drive wipers, and a steering column. These cars had a list price of £4995, which meant they were the cheapest new cars on sale in Britain between 1998 and 2001. Ledbury-built Maestros all had non-Rover VIN numbers.

A number of former Bulgarian cars were also sold in the UK by Apple 2000 Ltd, located in

Land Rover

The

'family' 4x4 was launched in Europe 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 and many body panels as the Range Rover). The Ninety/One Ten range was fitted with the new diesel engine and renamed the Defender in 1990. An all-new Range Rover was launched in 1994, together with an improved Discovery which maintained high sales. A fourth model, the 'mini-SUV' Freelander was introduced in late 1997 and replaced the Discovery as Europe's best-selling 4x4 vehicle.

MG

The

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.

The MG name was revived on passenger cars in 2001 when the ZR, ZS and ZT models launched, based on the Rover 25, 45 and 75 models respectively.

Sponsorship

Rover Group sponsored the Scottish football team

triumph in 1994, the club's first ever success in the competition.

References

External links

• Why did BMW buy Rover? Retrieved September 2011
• Catalogue of the Rover Group archives^{[permanent dead link]}, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick