Austin 12-4 Heavy

Austin 12-4 Heavy 4-door saloon circa 1928

Herbert Austin (1866–1941), former manager of the Wolseley Tool & Motor Car Company founded The Austin Motor Company in 1905, at Longbridge. In 1952 Austin merged with the Nuffield Organisation (parent company of Morris) to form the British Motor Corporation. In 1966, BMC & Pressed Steel merged with Jaguar & became British Motor Holdings. In 1968, BMH merged with Leyland Motors & Austin became a part of British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC). In 1982, most of the car division was rebranded as the Austin Rover Group, with Austin acting as the "budget" and mainstream brand to Rover's more luxurious models. The MG badge was revived for sporty versions of the Austin models. In 1986 Austin Rover's holding company BL plc became Rover Group plc and was privatised by selling it to British Aerospace (BAe). The rights to the Austin name passed to British Aerospace & then to BMW when each bought the Rover Group. The rights were then sold to MG Rover, created when BMW sold the business. Following MG Rover's collapse & sale, Nanjing Automobile Group acquired the Austin name.