A small presentation about the downfall of British Leyland Motor Corporation, with brief insights into its turbulent history, timeline of events, managerial, labour and product issues. Submitted By: Gaurav Singh and Ashish Ranjan Paper: Corporate Strategy, Year: 2015-16 Course: Bachelors of Management Studies College: Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi All rights reserved.

1. BRITISH LEYLAND
THE GREAT COLLAPSE
Corporate Strategy | Ashish Ranjan, Gaurav Singh (BMS 3M)

2. ABOUT THE COMPANY
• Founded in the UK in 1968 as BLMC by the merger
between LMC and BMH.
• Nationalized in 1975 when the UK government
created British Leyland.
• During the Merger BMH was close to collapse and
LMC was successful.
• Contained profitable marques such as Jaguar, Rover
and Land Rover, as well as the best-selling Mini
• In 1986 it was renamed as the Rover Group, later to
become MG Rover Group

3. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
BLMC Fiat Volkswagen Renault
Output 1,318,327 1,127,000 1,705,800 2,080,000
Capital investment £100m £42m £142m £278m
Number of employees 190,800 189,800 200,000 95,000
Output per employee 4.5 8.5 12 11.5
Sales per employee £6000 £6500 £10,000 N/A
Fixed assets per
employee
£2000 £6000 £6000 £3500

4. 1968: BLMC is formed. Lord Stokes is appointed the chairman.
1969: Riley marque, 998cc Mini-Cooper and Wolseley Hornet is killed, Mini becomes the new marque.
1971: The Morris Range is reduced to two models : the new Marina and the 1800 marking the end of Morris Minor.
1973: Lord Stokes announced a huge BLMC expansion program.
1974: The finances are in a very bad situation. Creditors approach government for help.
1975: Ryder report published, recommending the company to be enlarged under government ownership. Alex Park replaces
Lord Stokes.
1978: Speke manufacturing facility is closed due to a long battle with unions.
1979: Collaborative deal is signed with Honda to Japanese cars under license in the UK. Vanden Plas factory closed.
1980: More BL plants in Abingdon and Canley is closed.
1982: BL Sign a deal with Honda to jointly develop their first car. Formation of different divisions : Austin Rover and Jaguar.
1983: Government pushes Austin Rover to negotiate with Honda for production of all further engines.
1985: BL tries to negotiate a 1.5 million pound cash injection to secure the company’s future. Govt. unimpressed by the request
and push Austin Rover to drop their new engine plans.
1986: Govt. persuade the MD to get the company back into private ownership in a swift manner. Renamed as The Rover Group.
TIMELINE British Leyland

5. CHALLENGES – LABOUR ISSUES
• The decline of BMC also arised due to the
labour relations caused by the complex
piecework system of payment.
• 44% of all strikes in the motor industry
occurred within BMC plants.
• BMC’s dismissed around 10000 employees
in the autumn of 1966 that enforced the
distrust between the managers and workers.

6. CHALLENGES – STRATEGY ISSUES
•Produced competing models from the merged
companies at different sites for many years
•Benefits from the broader number of models were far
outweighed by higher development costs and greatly
reduced economies of scale.
•Potential benefits associated with rationalising parts
usage were lost
•Competing Models:
Morris Minor and Austin A40/Austin 1100
Austin 1300 and Triumph Herald/Triumph Toledo
Morris Marina, Austin Allegro, and Triumph Dolomite
Triumph 2000, Rover 2000, and Princess
Triumph Spitfire, MG Midget and Austin-Healey Sprite
Triumph TR6/Triumph TR7 and MG MGB
Rover 3500 and Jaguar XJ6

7. CHALLENGES – PRODUCT ISSUES
• The Allegro and Square Steering
Wheel
• SD1 Rover – Build Quality
• K Series Engine (90% of their
Products)
• Same weight but completely
different engines
•American and Japanese
Competitors

8. THANK YOU