Top Gear Live 1: Automotive industry in the UK

Automotive industry in the United Kingdom

The automotive industry in the United Kingdom is now best known for premium and sports car marques including Aston Martin, Bentley, Daimler, Jaguar, Lagonda, Land Rover, Lotus, McLaren, MG, Mini, Morgan and Rolls-Royce. Volume car manufacturers with a major presence in the UK include Ford, Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Vauxhall Motors (owned by General Motors). Commercial vehicle manufacturers active in the UK include Alexander Dennis, Ford, GMM Luton (owned by General Motors), Leyland Trucks (owned by Paccar) and London Taxis International.
In 2008 the UK automotive manufacturing sector had a turnover of £52.5 billion, generated £26.6 billion of exports and produced around 1.45 million passenger vehicles and 203,000 commercial vehicles. In that year around 180,000 people were directly employed in automotive manufacturing in the UK, with a further 640,000 people employed in automotive supply, retail and servicing. The UK is a major centre for engine manufacturing and in 2008 around 3.16 million engines were produced in the country. The UK has a significant presence in auto racing and the UK motorsport industry currently employs around 38,500 people, comprises around 4,500 companies and has an annual turnover of around £6 billion.The origins of the UK automotive industry date back to the final years of the 19th century. By the 1950s the UK was the second-largest manufacturer of cars in the world (after the United States) and the largest exporter. However in subsequent decades the industry experienced considerably lower growth than competitor nations such as France, Germany and Japan and by 2008 the UK was the 12th-largest producer of cars measured by volume. Since the late 1980s many British car marques have become owned by foreign companies including BMW, SAIC, TATA and Volkswagen Group. Rights to many currently dormant brands, including Austin, Riley, Rover and Triumph, are also owned by foreign companies.

Famous and iconic British cars include the Aston Martin DB5, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Bentley 4½ Litre, Jaguar E-Type, Land Rover Defender, Lotus Esprit, McLaren F1, MGB, original two-door Mini, Range Rover and Rolls-Royce Phantom III. Notable British car designers include John Polwhele Blatchley, Ian Callum, Colin Chapman, Alec Issigonis, Charles Spencer King and Gordon Murray.

History

^{1896 to 1900}

^{Frederick
Simms}^{in
his}^{Motor
Scout}^{, in
June 1899.}

^T^{he British
motor industry started when}^{Frederick
Simms}^{became
friends with}^{Gottlieb
Daimler}^{, who had, in
1885, patented a successful design for a high-speed}^{petrol
engine}^{. Simms, a
London consulting engineer, bought the British rights for Daimler's engine and
associated patents and from 1891 successfully sold launches using these}^Cannstatt^{-made motors
from Eel Pie Island in the Thames. In 1893 he formed The Daimler Motor
Syndicate Limited for his various Daimler-related
enterprises.}
^{In June 1895
Simms and his friend Evelyn Ellis promoted motorcars in Britain by bringing a
Daimler-engined Panhard & Levassor to England and in July it
completed, without police intervention, the first British long-distance motorcar
journey from Southampton to Malvern.}
^{Simms'
documented plans to manufacture Daimler motors and Daimler Motor Carriages (in
Cheltenham) were taken over, together with his company and its Daimler licences,
by London company-promoter}^{H J
Lawson}^{. Lawson
contracted to buy The Daimler Motor Syndicate Limited and all its rights
and on 14 January 1896 formed and in February successfully floated in London}^{The Daimler
Motor Company Limited}^{. It then
purchased from a friend of Lawson a disused cotton mill in}^Coventry^{for car
engine and chassis manufacture where, it is claimed, Britain's first serial
production car was made.}

^Daimler^{shooting
brake}^{6 hp,
twin-cylinder, 1526 cc engine, mounted at the front of the car, four-speed
gearbox and chain drive manufactured Coventry 1897 in Britain's first series
production run}^{Louwman
Museum}

^{The claim for
the first all-British motor car is contested, but George Lanchester's first cars
of 1895 and 1896 did include French and German components. In 1891 Richard
Stephens, a mining engineer from South Wales, returned from a commission in
Michigan to establish a bicycle works in Clevedon, Somerset. Whilst in America
he had seen the developments in motive power and by 1897 he had produced his
first car. This was entirely of his own design and manufacture, including the
two-cylinder engine, apart from the wheels which he bought from Starley in
Coventry. This was probably the first all-British car and Stephens set up a
production line, manufacturing in all, twelve vehicles, including four- and
six-seater cars and hackneys, and nine-seater buses.}
^{Early motor
vehicle development in the UK had been effectively stopped by a series of}^{Locomotive
Acts}^{introduced
during the 19th century which severely restricted the use of mechanically
propelled vehicles on the}^{public
highways}^{. Following
intense}^advocacy^{by motor
vehicle enthusiasts, including Harry J. Lawson of Daimler, the worst
restrictions of these acts, (the need for each vehicle to be accompanied by a
crew of three, and a 2 mph (3.2 km/h) speed limit in towns), was lifted by the}^{Locomotives
on Highways Act 1896}^.^{Under this
regulation, light locomotives (those vehicles under 3}^tons^{unladen
weight) were exempt from the previous restrictions, and a higher speed limit -
14 mph (23 km/h) was set for them. To celebrate the new freedoms Lawson
organised the}^{Emancipation
Run}^{held on 14
November 1896, the day the new Act came into force. This occasion has been
commemorated since 1927 by the annual}^{London to
Brighton Veteran Car Run}^.

^{1900 to 1918}

^The^{Rolls-Royce
10 hp}^{,
which was the first car to be produced as a result of the agreement between}^{Charles
Rolls}^and^{Henry
Royce}^.

^{The early
British vehicles of the late 19th century relied mainly upon developments from
Germany and France. By 1900 however, the first all-British 4-wheel car was
designed and built by}^{Herbert
Austin}^{, an employee
of the}^{Wolseley
Sheep Shearing Company}^{(later
becoming the}^{Wolseley
Motor Company}^{) in}^Birmingham^.
^{The
pioneering car producers, many of them from the}^bicycle^{industry,
got off to a shaky start. Of the 200 British makes of car that had been launched
up until 1913, only about 100 of the firms were still in existence. In 1910 UK
vehicle production was 14,000 units. By 1913}^{Henry
Ford}^{had built a
new factory in}^Manchester^{and was the
leading UK producer, building 7310 cars that year, followed by Wolseley at 3000,}^Humber^{(making cars
since 1898 in Coventry) at 2500,}^Rover^{(Coventry
car maker since 1904) at 1800 and}^Sunbeam^{(producing
cars since 1901) at 1700, with the plethora of smaller producers bringing the
1913 total up to about 16,000 vehicles.}

^{1918 to 1939}

^{1920
Austin Twenty}

^{Car
production virtually came to an end during}^{the war years
1914–1918}^{, but the
pressure of war production encouraged the development of mass-production
techniques in the motor industry. By 1922 there were 183 motor companies in the
UK, and by 1929, following the slump years, there were 58 companies
remaining.}^{In 1929
production was dominated by}^Morris^{(founded by}^{William
Morris}^{in 1910 in}^Oxford^{) and}^Austin^{(founded by
Herbert Austin in}^Longbridge^{in 1905
after he left Wolseley) who between them produced 60% of the UK output.}^Singer^{(Coventry
motorcycle manufacturer started building cars in 1905) followed in third place
that year with 15% of production.}
^{In 1932
Britain overtook France to become Europe's largest car producer (a position
which it retained until 1955). In 1937 the UK produced 379,310 passenger cars
and 113,946 commercial vehicles.}^{To celebrate
the granting of his peerage, William Morris upon becoming Viscount Nuffield,
reorganised his motor vehicle companies in 1938, which by then included not only
Morris Motors and}^MG^{, but also
Wolseley and}^Riley^{(bicycle
company founded in Coventry in 1890 and making cars since 1913), into the}^{Nuffield
Organisation}^{. In 1939 the
top producers were Morris: 27%, Austin: 24%, Ford: 15%,}^Standard^{(founded in
Coventry in 1903): 13%,}^Rootes^{(which had
acquired Humber and Sunbeam): 11%,}^Vauxhall^{(building
cars since 1903, acquired by}^GM^{in 1925):
10%.}

^{1939 to 1955}

^The^{Land
Rover Series I}^{,
introduced in
1948.}

^During^{World War
II}^{car
production gave way to commercial and military vehicle production, and many
motor vehicle plants were used for aircraft and aero engine production.
Following the war the government controlled the supply of steel, and priority
was given to supplying foreign-revenue-raising export businesses. In 1947 steel
was available only to businesses with 75% of production being exported. This,
coupled with the inevitable limited competition from Europe, and with demand for
new vehicles in America and in Australia being greater than the American
industry alone could supply, resulted in British vehicle exports reaching record
levels. Britain became the world's biggest motor vehicle exporter. In 1937
Britain provided 15% of world vehicle exports, by 1950, a year in which 75% of
British car production and 60% of its commercial vehicle production was
exported, Britain provided 52% of the world's exported vehicles. This situation
remained until the mid-1950s, by which time the American industry production had
caught up with American demand, and European production was recovering. By 1952
the American owned producers in the UK (Ford and GM's Vauxhall) had between them
a 29% share of the British market, which exceeded the share of either of
Britain's top two manufacturers. It was in that context that Viscount Nuffield
agreed to the merger of his company, the Nuffield Organisation, with Austin, to
form the}^{British Motor
Corporation}^{(BMC). Thus
BMC, comprising Austin, Morris, MG, Riley and Wolseley was formed in 1952 and
commanded a 40% share of the British market.}^{German
production was increasing yearly, and by 1953 it had exceeded that of France,
and by 1956 it had overtaken that of Britain.}

^{1955 to 1968}

^{E-type
Jaguar}^{(introduced
1961)}

^{By 1955 five
companies produced 90% of Britain's motor vehicle output: BMC, Ford, Rootes,
Standard-Triumph and Vauxhall. Of the dozen or so small producers Rover and
Jaguar were strong niche producers. During 1960 Britain dropped from being the
world's second largest motor vehicle producer into third place. Labour-intensive
methods, and wide model ranges hindered opportunities to reduce manufacturing
costs - Britain's unit costs were higher than those of their major Japanese,
European and American competitors.}^{Although
rationalisation of motor vehicle companies had started, full integration did not
occur. BMC continued to produce vehicles under the marque names of its
incorporated companies, many of which competed with each
other.}^{Standard-Triumph's attempts to reduce costs by embracing a modern volume
production strategy almost led to their bankruptcy in 1960, the result was that
they were purchased by the}^{commercial
vehicle}^{manufacturing company}^{Leyland
Motors}^{. In 1966,
BMC and Jaguar came together, to form}^{British Motor
Holdings}^{(BMH).
Leyland had achieved some sales success with Leyland-Triumph and in 1967 it
acquired Rover. By 1966 Britain had slipped to become the world's fourth largest
motor vehicle producer. Following a gradual process which had begun in 1964,}^{Chrysler
UK}^{(CUK) had
fully acquired Rootes by 1967.}

¹⁹⁶⁷^{Morris
Mini-Minor}^{(introduced
1959)}

^{In the
context of BMC's wide, complex, and expensive-to-produce model range, and Ford's
conventionally designed}^Cortina^{challenging
the number one spot in the domestic market, and the heavy reliance of the
British economy on motor vehicle production, in 1968 the Government brokered the
merger of the successful Leyland-Triumph-Rover and the struggling BMH, to form
Europe's fourth largest car maker, the}^{British
Leyland Motor Corporation}^{(BLMC). The
new company announced its intention to invest in a new volume car range, and to
equip its factories with the latest capital-intensive production
methods.}^{Notable
British cars of this era included the 1959}^Mini^{— designed
by}^{Alec
Issigonis}^{for the}^{British Motor
Corporation}^{, and}^{Malcolm
Sayer}^{'s 1961}^{E-type
Jaguar}^.

^{1968 to 1977}

^{The
first-generation}^{Range
Rover}^{, which was
in production from 1970 to
1996.}

^{By 1968 UK
motor vehicle production was dominated by four companies: BLMC, Chrysler (UK),
Ford, and Vauxhall (GM). The national champion, BLMC, was handicapped in its
attempts to modernise by internal rivalries. Unattractive new products,
retention of legacy marques and models, labour disputes, quality issues,
supplier problems and inefficient use of new equipment thwarted the dream of
efficient high volume production. Increased overseas competition, arising from
lowered tariffs and membership of the}^{European
Union}^{, and high unit costs, led
to low profits, which in turn jeopardised investment plans. BLMC's share of the
UK market dropped from 40% to 32% between 1971 and
1973.}

^The^{Triumph
Dolomite Sprint}^{, in
production from 1973 to
1980.}

^{By 1974
Britain's position as a world motor vehicle manufacturer had dropped to sixth
place. In 1974 both BLMC and Chrysler UK appealed to the Government for
financial help. The Government rejected the idea of a BLMC/CUK merger, and
instead CUK received a loan and BLMC was subjected to a series of studies to
determine its future. The Government's official BLMC enquiry, led by}^{Lord
Ryder}^{, suggested
that BLMC's strategy was sound, but required huge Government investment to
improve productivity by providing mechanisation and improving labour relations.
Despite the effective}^{nationalisation}^{of BLMC as}^{British
Leyland}^{(BL) in
1975, the recovery never happened. Chrysler sold its European interests
(including those in the UK) to}^Peugeot^{in 1977, to
allow it to concentrate on its own difficulties in America. The UK interests
were renamed}^{Peugeot-Talbot}^.

^{1977 to 1987}

¹⁹⁸³^{Austin
Metro}^{(introduced 1980)}

^{By the end of
the 1970s Ford, Peugeot-Talbot and Vauxhall (GM) were well integrated with their
parent companies' other European operations. BL stood alone in the UK as an
increasingly junior player. As part of the drive for increased productivity in
the late 1970s, BL reduced its workforce and number of plants, and strived to
centralise its management activities. The city of Coventry suffered particularly
badly, with many thousands becoming unemployed. In 1979 BL struck a
collaboration deal with}^Honda^{to share the
development and production of a new mid-sized car (}^{Triumph
Acclaim}^/^{Honda
Ballade}^{). The new
car combined Honda engine and transmission designs with a BL body. Although the
UK political scene changed in 1979 with the election of the}^{Thatcher
government}^{, the
Government continued to support BL with funds for the development of a new
mass-market model range (}^{Mini
Metro}^,^Maestro^,^Montego^{and another
Honda collaboration the}^{Rover
800}^{). Car
assembly, with the exception of Jaguars, was concentrated into two central
plants -}^Longbridge^and^Cowley^{. In July
1986 BL was renamed the}^{Rover
Group}^.

^{1987 to
2001}

^The^{Rover
600 Series}^{, in
production from 1993 to
1999}

^{In July 1986,}^Nissan^{became the
first}^Japanese^{carmaker to
set up a production facility in Europe, when it opened a new plant in}^Sunderland^{. The plant
initially produced just the}^Bluebird^{and from
1990 its successor, the}^Primera^{- until the
launch of the}^{MK2
Micra}^{in
1992.}
^{Peugeot
started production of the}³⁰⁹^{hatchback at
Ryton in January 1986, followed by the}⁴⁰⁵^{at the end
of 1987. As the decade progressed, production of the}³⁰⁶^and²⁰⁶^{also began
at Ryton.}^Honda's^{venture with}^{Austin
Rover}^{and the
post-1989}^{Rover
Group}^{saw a number
of different designs shared between the two marques. The venture finished in
February 1994 when Rover Group ownership was transferred from}^{British
Aerospace}^{to German
carmaker}^BMW^{. For the
first time in some 90 years, Britain was without an independent mass production
carmaker. BMW's ownership of the Rover Group saw the development of several
newer, more upmarket models, giving the British brand an image to match that of
its parent company. BMW also revived the}^MG^{brand in
1995 on a new affordable sports car, the}^MGF^{, as well as
strengthening}^{Land
Rover's}^{position in
the off-roader market. BMW controversially sold off the}^{Rover
Group}^{in May 2000.
It retained the rights to the}^Mini^{marque,
while selling Land Rover to}^Ford^{. The MG and
Rover marques were sold to the Phoenix Consortium, who branded the remains of
the group as}^{MG
Rover}^{and
concentrated all production at the}^{Longbridge
plant}^{. For the
first time in six years, Britain had an independent mass production carmaker
again.}

^The^{Bentley
Arnage}^{, in
production from 1998 to
2009}

^{After the
split from Rover,}^Honda^{continued
making the}^Civic^{range in the}^UK^{at a new
plant in}^Swindon^.^Toyota^{opened a new
plant near}^Derby^{at the
beginning of 1992.}
^{Ford took
over}^Jaguar^{in October
1989, and production of the new small Jaguar, the X type, started at Halewood in
late 2000. By the end of the century, Ford had also acquired}^{Land
Rover}^and^{Aston

Martin}^.
^{Volkswagen
took over}^Rolls-Royce^and^Bentley^{in 1998 and
it launched the Arnage and the Corniche in the same year. In 2003 BMW acquired
Rolls-Royce and launched the Phantom.}

^{2001 to 2011}

^The^{Lotus
Evora}^{,
which was launched in
2008}

^{In May 2000}^Ford^{announced
that passenger car assembly as its Dagenham plant would cease in 2002, ending 90
years of Ford passenger car assembly in the UK.}^{At the same
time Ford announced that it would invest $500 million in the expansion of a
diesel engine factory at the site, making Dagenham its largest diesel engine
center worldwide and creating about 500 new jobs to offset the 1,900 to be lost
in vehicle assembly.}^{In December
2004 Ford announced a further investment of £169 million in the Dagenham plant,
increasing annual output to one million diesel
engines.}
^{The closure
of Vauxhall's Luton car assembly plant in March 2003 left}^{Ellesmere
Port}^{as the sole
Vauxhall assembly plant remaining in Britain. General Motors also retained the
former}^Bedford^{works in
Luton for producing}^vans^{such as the}^Vivaro^{and the}^Movano^{. By 2007,
the Ellesmere Port plant was employing 3,000 and received a boost with
confirmation that the next generation Astra will be produced there from
2009.}
^{Losses at
Jaguar led to closure of the company's}^{Browns Lane
plant}ⁱⁿ^Coventry^{in
2004.}^{Spare
capacity at Halewood allowed Land Rover Freelander production to be transferred
there in 2006.}^{MG
Rover}^{spent the
early part of the 2000s investigating possible ventures with other carmakers in
order to develop a new range of cars. Proposed links with foreign organisations
including Malaysian carmaker}^Proton^{failed to
materialise, and by late 2004 Chinese carmaker}^{Shanghai
Automobile}^{had shown an
interest in taking over the Longbridge-based firm - which was now hundreds of
millions of pounds in debt. Talks broke down and the firm went into receivership
in April 2005 with the loss of more than 6,000 jobs. Three months later, the
firm's assets were purchased by another Chinese carmaker -}^{Nanjing
Automobile Group}^{- and
Longbridge partially re-opened over the summer of 2007 with an initial workforce
of around 250 preparing to restart production of the}^{MG
TF}^{which was
relaunched in August 2008.}^Peugeot^{reduced
output of the}^Ryton^{plant in the
spring of 2001 when its}³⁰⁶^{model was
replaced by the French-built}³⁰⁷^{, leaving the}²⁰⁶^{as the sole
model built there. In April 2006 Peugeot closed its Ryton plant and moved 206
production to}^Slovakia^.

^The^{Aston
Martin DBS V12}^{, in
production since
2007}

^{In 2007, Ford
sold}^{Aston
Martin}^{to a
British-led Consortium backed by Middle East investors, retaining a small stake
in the company and agreeing to continue the supply of components including
engines.}^[28][29]^{In 2008 Ford
sold its}^{Jaguar Land
Rover}^{to Tata
Motors of India.}^{In November
2009, Dutch sportscar maker}^{Spyker
Cars}^{announced
that it would be moving production from}^Zeewolde^to^{Whitley,
Coventry}^{, and UK
production began in February 2010.}
^{In March 2010
McLaren Automotive unveiled its MP4-12C model, alongside plans to produce around
4,000 cars per year at its Woking factory by the middle of the
decade.}^{At the Paris
Motor Show in September 2010 Lotus Cars unveiled five new models due to go on
sale by 2016, alongside plans for an investment of £770 million over 10 years,
the complete redevelopment of its Hethel factory and an increase in production
from under 3,000 cars per year to 6,000 to 7,000.}^{In December
2010 it was announced that Renault had sold its remaining 25% shareolding in its
eponymous Formula 1 team to Lotus Cars, and that the team would be renamed Lotus
Renault in 2011.}

^{2011 to
present}

^{At the}^{North
American International Auto Show}^{in January
2011 BMW announced that it would be extending the Mini range with the launch of
two new two-door sports crossover vehicles based on the}^{Mini
Paceman}^{concept car,
with a coupe version planned to enter production in 2011 and a roadster to
follow in 2012.}^{In March
2011}^{Jaguar Land
Rover}^{announced
that it would be hiring an additional 1,500 staff at its}^{Halewood
plant}^{, and signed
over £2 billion of supply contracts with UK-based companies, to enable
production of its new}^{Range Rover
Evoque}^model.^{In April
2011 the}^{MG
Motor}^{subsidiary
of}^{Shanghai
Automotive Industry Corporation}^{announced
that mass production had resumed at the}^{Longbridge
plant}^{, as the
first}^{MG
6}^{to be
produced in the United Kingdom came off the production
line.}^{In May 2011
Jaguar unveiled plans to build the}^C-X75^{petrol-electric hybrid supercar in the UK from 2013, with production to be in
association with}^{Williams
F1}^.^{Also in May,
Aston Martin Lagonda confirmed that it was planning to revive the}^Lagonda^{marque, with
the launch of two or three new models.}^{In an
interview with Reuters in the same month,}^{Carl-Peter
Forster}^{, the Chief
Executive of}^{Tata
Motors}^{, revealed
that Jaguar Land Rover was seeking a Chinese joint-venture partner to enable
production of Jaguar and Land Rover models in China, and that it would be
investing over £5 billion in new product development over the succeeding five
years.}
^{In June,
Nissan announced that the replacement for the existing Nissan Qashqai would be
designed and built in the UK, in a total investment of £192 million safeguarding
around 6,000 jobs.}^{In June BMW
announced an investment of £500 million in the UK over the subsequent three
years as part of an expansion of the Mini range to seven
models.}^{In September
2011, Jaguar Land Rover confirmed that it would be investing £355 million in the
construction of a new engine plant near}^{Wolverhampton}^{, to
manufacture a new family of four-cylinder petrol and diesel
engines.}^{Later in the
same month it was announced that the}^Jensen^{marque would
be revived, with a new version of the}^Interceptor^{to be built
by CPP Holdings at the former Jaguar factory}^{Browns
Lane}^{in
Coventry.}^{In November,
Toyota announced plans to make the UK its sole European manufacturing base for
hatchback versions of its next C-segment family car, resulting in the investment
of over £100 million in its Burnaston plant and the creation of around 1,500 new
jobs.}

Motorsport

It has been estimated that there are about 4,000 companies in the UK involved in the manufacturing industry related to motorsport.Formula One motor racing has made its home in the UK, the following eight of the twelve teams competing in the 2012 season are based there: