ROVER GROUP

'Rover Group plc' was the name that was given by the British government, in 1986, to the state-owned vehicle manufacturer British Leyland or BL.
After divesting of its commercial vehicle and bus manufacturing divisions the company by then consisting of the car manufacturing arm Austin Rover Group and the Land Rover Group, was privatised in 1988 by the sale of the company to the also formerly state owned British Aerospace who in 1994 sold the company on to German vehicle manufacturer BMW.
The remains of the Rover Group after its sale from BMW were then known as MG Rover Group.
Although the Rover 800 went on sale shortly after Austin Rover became the Rover Group, it had actually been developed entirely by Austin Rover and was a result of the final new model development by British Leyland - in conjunction with Honda. It sold well among buyers in the executive market, with a facelift in 1991 keeping its appeal reasonably fresh. By its demise in late 1998, however, it was looking considerably dated.
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 instead of a four-door saloon. It used a new range of 16-valve K Series petrol engines as well as a Peugeot diesel. Sales were even stronger than its successors, and its launch coincided with a winding-down in production of the similarly-sized Maestro, which finally ceased production at the end of 1994; having spent the final years of its life as a budget alternative to the more upmarket Rover 200. Coupe and cabriolet versions of the 200 were later sold, and these were sold alongside the all-new 1995 model and continued until that model was upgraded to become the Rover 25 in 1999. The 1989 Rover 200 was a strong seller throughout its life, and its successor continued this trend, though its final year of production (1999) saw a significant dip in sales. Both incarnations of the Rover 200 sold well, though not quite as strongly as the ever-popular Ford Escort. The Rover 200 had actually been around since 1988 as the Longbridge-built Honda Concerto, which offered a higher level of equipment but only achieved a fraction of its sales.
At the beginning of 1990, Rover launched the 400 range. The 400 was essentially a four-door version of the 200 hatchback, but was slightly longer and offered more stowage space. It was sold as an alternative to the likes of the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall Cavalier, but was never able to match the success of these cars. An estate version of the 400 was launched in 1994, and continued alongside the all-new Honda Civic-based model that was launched the following year. The 1995 Rover 400 was a more substantial and popular alternative to other large family cars than its successor was, offering impressive equipment levels, but a relative shortage of interior space due to the fact that it was nearer in size to cars in the next category down. The Rover 400 was facelifted in 1999 to become the Rover 45, and at the same time the estate version of the original 400 was dropped.
May 1990 saw Rover give the decade-old Metro a major reworking, which most notably included internal and external restyling, as well as new 1.1 and 1.4 K-Series petrol engines. The new Metro was an impressive package which offered some of the best standards of specification in any supermini at the time, and it sold well until being replaced by the Rover 100 (essentially another update of the original 1980 design) in late 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.
Rover entered the compact executive market in March 1993 with its 600 range. Sold as a four-door saloon, the 600 was based on the Honda Accord but used Rover engines and had a classier interior. It was very popular in the compact executive market, but couldn't quite match the ever-popular BMW 3 Series.
The Land Rover arm of the Rover Group expanded dramatically after the late 1980s. Its luxurious Range Rover had sold well since its 1970 launch, with only a few minor upgrades until the introduction of its successor in 1994. The original Land Rover had gradually been updated and refined since its 1948 launch, and was still popular with buyers as the New Millennium dawned. Land Rover expanded its range in 1989 with the launch of the mid-range Discovery, which was of a similar size to the original Land Rover, but offered more in the way of refinement and comfort. It was regularly the best selling car in its sector and the 1998 upgrade saw the styling retained (in a more modern form) and just about everything else change. Land Rover launched an even more affordable model in 1997 when it added the Freelander to its range as an entry-level vehicle.
The MG badge-engineering project (first implemented by Austin Rover in 1982) was called off in 1991 despite some reasonable success. The MG badge was revived in 1992 on the MG RV8 - an updated MG B which made use of a 3.5 V8 Range Rover 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 disctinctive 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.
In March 2000, BMW announced its plans to sell the Rover Group. Within two months, the sale of the group had been completed. Land Rover became part of Ford Motor Company, while BMW retained the rights to build the new MINI that was due for a launch 12 months later. The Rover and MG marques were purchased by the Phoenix Consortium, who continued to build cars at the Longbridge plant - including the original Mini for the final few months of its 41-year production life.

Contents

Timeline

References

Timeline

★ 1986: BL plc (formerly British Leyland Ltd) renamed as ''Rover Group plc''

★ 1986: Rover SD1 production ceases after 10 years and the car is replaced by a new model called the Rover 800 - the result of a joint venture with Honda which led to the manufacture of the Rover 800 and the Honda Legend.

★ 1987: The Leyland Trucks division (which by then included Freight Rover Vans) merged with DAF and then floated. (Note: After being declared bankrupt in 1993 the new DAF NV company 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 USA.)

★ 1987: Leyland Bus floated off; bought by Volvo Buses in 1988

★ 1987: Unipart spare parts division sold off via management buyout

★ 1988: Rover Group privatised; sold to British Aerospace

★ 1989: The new Rover 200 goes on sale, abandoning the four-door saloon bodystyle in favour of a three- and five-door hatchback. It is also sold as the Honda Concerto. Maestro and Montego production is scaled down as a result.

★ 1990: The Rover 400 - saloon version of the 'Rover 200' - goes on sale. Also going into production is the heavily updated Metro, which features modernised body styling, a reworked interior and a new range of engines.

★ 1991: The 'Rover 800' receives a major facelift.

★ 1992: Convertible and Coupe versions of the 'Rover 200' are launched.

★ 1993: The Rover 600 is launched, based on the Honda Accord but using Rover's own engines.

★ 1994: An estate version of the 'Rover 400' 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. Rover Group sold to BMW.

★ 1995: New versions of the 'Rover 200' and 'Rover 400' go on sale, though this time they are entirely different cars. The 'Rover 400' is a reworked, upmarket version of the latest Honda Civic, despite the Rover-Honda collaboration finishing a year earlier. The new MG F goes on sale, bringing back the 'MG' badge on a mass-production sports car for the first time since 1980.

★ 1998: The Rover 75 goes on sale as a successor to both the 'Rover 600' and 'Rover 800'.

★ 1999: The 'Rover 200' and 'Rover 400' are facelifted to be re-badged as the 'Rover 25' and 'Rover 45' respectively.

★ 2000: Land Rover sold by BMW to Ford

★ 2000: The new MINI launched by BMW, produced at the Cowley assembly plant.

★ 2000: Remainder of company sold to the Phoenix Consortium for a nominal £10 and becomes the MG Rover Group^[1]

References

1. Rover's Revenge