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British Motor Holdings Ltd (BMH) was a British motor company created in an attempt to halt the decline in Britain's manufacturing base in the 1960s.

History[]

The Wilson Labour Government (1964–1970) came to power at a time when British manufacturing industry was in decline and decided that the remedy was to promote more mergers, particularly in the motor industry. Chrysler was already buying into the Rootes Group, Leyland Motors had acquired Standard Triumph and Rover and had become a major automotive force. The British Motor Corporation (BMC) was suffering a dramatic drop in its share of the home market, and in 1966 it succumbed to the pressures, and along with Pressed Steel (a car body manufacturer), merged with Jaguar Cars to form British Motor Holdings. The entity formally came into existence on 14th December 1966[1].

From the perspective of Jaguar, the merger came about because Sir William Lyons, the managing director and founder of Jaguar Cars Ltd, was nearing retirement, and did not have a viable succession plan within the company. His only son John Lyons had been killed in a car accident in 1955, and his other board members were of a similar age to himself. Another factor was that bodyshells for Jaguar production were fabricated by Pressed Steel, a supplier critical to Jaguar Cars and now controlled by BMC.

From the perspective of the BMC , Jaguar Cars was attractive for a merger because it had had success in the US market, and was thereby hugely profitable at a time when BMC lacked the funds to invest sufficiently in modern production facilities or new models.

The marques[]

BMH thus inherited a plethora of British automotive marques:

  • From Jaguar Cars came
  • From BMC came

Merge with the Leyland Motor Corporation[]

By 1968, BMH's short life came to an end. As it still struggled to make significant profit, it merged with the prosperous Leyland Motor Corporation to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC).

See Also[]

Automobiles made by BMC, BL and Rover Group companies
Austin | Austin-Healey | British Leyland | Jaguar | MG | Morris | Riley | Rover | MG Rover | Triumph | Vanden Plas | Wolseley
Austin models: A40 | Cambridge | Westminster | A35 | A30 | Mini | 1100/1300 | Mini Moke | 1800 | 3-Litre | Maxi | Allegro | Mini Metro | Maestro | Montego
Austin-Healey models: 100 | 3000 | Sprite
British Leyland models: Princess | P76 (Australia only)
Jaguar models: XJ6 | XJ12 | XJS
Morris models: Minor | Oxford | Cowley | Mini | 1100/1300 | 1800 | Marina/Ital
MG models: MGA | Magnette | Midget | Montego | MGB | MGC | 1100/1300 | MG RV8 | MG F/TF | MG ZT | MG ZR | MG ZS | MG SV
Riley models: Pathfinder | 2.6 | 1.5 | 4/68 | Elf | Kestrel
Rover models: P3 | P4 | P5 | P6 | SD1 | 25 | 75 (post-P4) | 45 | 400 | 200 | 100 (post-P4) | 800 | 600 | CityRover | Estoura | Streetwise
Triumph models: Herald | Spitfire | Vitesse | GT6 | Stag | TR7 | Toledo | 1300 |1500 | 2000 | 2.5 & 2500 | Dolomite | Acclaim
Vanden Plas models: Princess | 3-Litre | 1100/1300
Wolseley models: 4/44 | 6/90 | 15/50 | 1500 | 16/60 | 6/99 | 6/110 | Hornet | 1100/1300 | 18/85
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The rise and fall of British Leyland - the car companies and the brands - [edit]
Marque 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2006
Jaguar SS Cars Jaguar Jaguar BMH British Leyland Jaguar Ford
Daimler Daimler BSA BSA
Lanchester Lanchester
Mini BMC Austin

Rover

BAe BMW BMW/MINI
Riley Riley Nuffield
Organisation
BMW
MG Morris Garages (MG) BMW MGR Nanjing
Morris Morris Morris
Wolseley Wolseley
Austin Austin Austin
Vanden Plas Vanden Plas Ford
Rover Rover Rover Rover BMW/MGR Ford
Land Rover Ford
Alvis Alvis BAE Systems
Standard Standard Standard Triumph Leyland BMW/Triumph
Triumph Dawson Triumph

Template:British Car Industry Template:Auto-company-stub

  1. ↑ "What is BMH?". Autocar vol 127 nbr 3730: page 1. 10 August 1967. 
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