Nuffield (Australia) Pty. Ltd. commenced assembly
of Morris vehicles in 1946 in Zetland, Sydney at
Victoria Park. The Victoria Park Zetland site was
purchased by Viscount Nuffield personally and
was later sold to the Nuffield Organisation in UK.
The marques produced by the Nuffield
Organisation were M.G., Morris, Riley and
Wolseley.
Austin Motor Company of Australia Ltd
Nuffield (Australia) Pty Ltd
The Austin Motor Company of Australia Ltd. was formed in 1948 and
purchased the plant of Ruskin Bodyworks Ltd. for assembly of Austin
vehicles.
The British Motor Corporation (Australia) Pty. Ltd. (BMC-A) was formed in 1954
and was composed of:
•
The Austin Motor Company (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
•
Nuffield (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
•
Fisher & Ludlow (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
The BMC vehicle marques, in addition to the Nuffield marques, were Austin, and
Austin Healey. The Zetland site ultimately became the focus for the manufacture of
BMC passenger vehicles in Australia.
In 1966, British Motor Holdings Ltd. (BMH) was formed by the merger of BMC,
Pressed Steel Company and Jaguar Cars Ltd. in the UK. BMH was not
established in Australia, but as a result of the UK merger, BMC-A took on
distribution, sales and support for Jaguar Cars Ltd. The marques, in addition to
BMC marques, were Daimler and Jaguar.
Rover Australia Pty Ltd was formed in 1956. Land Rover vehicles were manufactured by Pressed
Metal Corporation Ltd at Enfield in Sydney, partially owned by Rover Australia. In 1965, Leyland
Motors ceased to be a branch of the UK Leyland company and became registered in Australia in its
own right as the Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia Pty Ltd. In 1968, as a result of the merger
between Rover and Leyland in UK, Rover Australia Pty Ltd became a member company with BLMC-
Australia and the head office was transferred to Footscray. In 1969, the assets of Rover Australia
were formally sold to the British Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia Ltd and operated as a
separate division within that company. In March 1972, the old Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia
Pty Ltd changed its name to Satmon Pty Ltd - an investment company.
The British Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia Pty Ltd (BLMC-A) was formed in August 1968 after
the merger of BMH and Leyland Motor Corporation in UK. It merged the interests of The British Motor
Corporation (Australia) Pty Ltd and The Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia Pty Ltd. The newly
formed company consisted of four divisions:
•
Austin Morris Division
•
Specialist Car Division
•
Truck and Bus Division
•
Parts and Accessories Division
In October 1969, the company changed its name to British Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia Ltd.
In 1969, the assets of Rover Australia Ltd were sold to the British Leyland Motor Corporation of
Australia Ltd. The head office for Rover Australia Pty Ltd was transferred to Sydney. By the end of
1969, Land Rover, Rover and Triumph marques had been added to the Company’s passenger vehicle
range. The Truck and Bus Division produced Leyland, Albion, Scammell, A.E.C, Thornycroft truck and
bus chassis as well as diesel engines for industrial applications and marine engines.
The British Motor Corporation (Australia) Pty Ltd
Leyland Motors Ltd
Leyland Motors Ltd in UK set up an Australian branch in 1919 as a
manufacturer/assembler of truck and bus. In 1954, Leyland Motors
merged with Albion Motors Ltd, and then shortly afterwards, with
Scammell Lorries Ltd. A new factory at Footscray in Melbourne
was established in 1958. In UK, Leyland Motors purchased
Standard-Triumph. In Australia, the Standard-Triumph range was
manufactured by Australia Motor Industries Ltd in Melbourne
(formed in 1952) who also assembled Rambler and later, Toyota
vehicles.
Rover Australia Pty Ltd/ Leyland Motor Corporation of
Australia Pty Ltd
British Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia Pty Ltd
The Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia Ltd., commonly referred to as
Leyland Australia, was formed in March 1972. Leyland Australia was
formed as a result of a name change from the British Leyland Motor
Corporation to British Leyland Ltd. in UK. In March 1973, the vehicle
marque names Morris and Austin were replaced with the Leyland marque.
The BMC marque, used for Commercials and Moke, was also
discontinued. Australia was the only country to introduce the Leyland
marque for passenger vehicles and passenger vehicle derivatives - except
for vehicles exported to New Zealand CBU and CKD and other export
countries mainly in the Pacific region for Moke vehicles.
Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia Ltd
Jaguar Rover Australia Ltd (JRA)
In March 1982, Jaguar Rover Australia Ltd took over all the assets and
responsibilities of Leyland Motor Corporation Australia Ltd. Leyland
Australia then ceased trading. The Company had four divisions:
•
JRA Cars – distributors for Jaguar, Rover, Range Rover, and Peugeot
whereby vehicles were purchased from Austin Rover UK, Jaguar
Cars, Land Rover Ltd, Peugeot and Honda.
•
Land Rover Australia – assemblers of V8 petrol Series III from CKD
packs as well as diesel vehicles with the Isuzu diesel engine being
imported CBU from Japan, and also local design and manufacture of
some Land Rover derivatives.
•
JRA Bus and Coach – a manufacturers of bus bodies and coaches,
as well as importers and distributors of bus chassis from Hino Japan
and Leyland Bus UK. Buses were assembled at both Revesby and
Adelaide facilities.
•
JRA Parts – which importers and distributors of parts for selected past
and current models of Jaguar, Peugeot, Rover, Austin Morris, MGB,
Triumph, Range Rover, Land Rover and Leyland and Hino buses as
well as accessories for these vehicles.
JRA Holdings Ltd
In February 1987, a new company JRA Holdings acquired the whole
of the share capital of JRA Ltd from the Austin Rover parent for
$66.6M. Receivers were appointed in June 1992.
Clifford Corporation Ltd
In 1997, the Clifford Corporation Ltd bought out JRA Holdings
Ltd, which was by then predominantly a bus and coach
manufacturer, other divisions having been sold off or closed. in
late 1998, Clifford collapsed and was wound up.
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