Many of the facts are accurate, but the judgments and viewpoints are flawed. Rover’s performance was not “as good as BMW,” and although Euro sales were increasing, they did so from an incredibly low base. BMW struggled to comprehend Rover’s operations, which had been cash-starved for a year. Rover was a shell of the corporation BMW had purchased. They intended to launch the Rover brand, but they made a mistake by starting with the 75 when a 25/45 platform was required to build from the ground up. There was no murderous plot.
I agree with the most of the aforementioned theories. A superb piece of writing. Don’t forget that the 1990s saw substantial corporate restructuring and denationalization by governments all over the world, making it a very interesting decade. alex
When BMW first acquired Mini, they were compelled to buy Rover as well because it was part of the transaction. It was all or nothing in the bargain; they couldn’t just leave with Mini. They took a chance, and it ultimately paid off.
For the record, BMW is the last and only privately held automaker; all the others have been acquired or sold. They are the only ones left and have been producing cars since, I forget exactly, 1910 or 1912. And much like their vehicles, their motorcycles are the best of the best.
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Group Rover
This page discusses the business that was sold in 1988. See Rover Company for the business Leyland Motors purchased in 1967. Refer to Rover for the brand (marque).
The Rover Group plc, a state-owned corporation since 1975, replaced British Leyland as the British automobile manufacturing behemoth known as “BL plc” until 1986. At first, it included the Land Rover Group, Freight Rover vans, Leyland Trucks, and the Austin Rover Group automobile business (which includes the Austin, Rover, Mini, and MGmarks). Additionally, the Rover Group had the inactive trademarks of other businesses that had amalgamated with British Leyland and its forerunners, including Triumph, Morris, Wolseley, Riley, and Alvis.
From 1988 to 1994, British Aerospace (BAe) was the owner of the Rover Group. The remaining automobile division of Rover Group plc was sold by BAe to BMW in 1994. When Ford bought the Land Rover business in 2000, the group was subsequently split up, with the Rover and MG marques operating under the considerably smaller MG Rover Group until 2005. BMW (Germany), SAIC (China), and Tata Motors (India) currently possess the original Rover Group marques, with the latter owning the Rover brand itself and its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover owning the majority of the ancient Rover company’s assets.
Group MG Rover
The last locally held mass-production automobile manufacturer in the British automotive sector was MG Rover Group. The business was established in 2000 after BMW sold the Phoenix Consortium the original Rover Group’s car-making and engine-manufacturing assets.
After MG Rover entered administration in 2005, Nanjing Automobile Group acquired its core assets. In 2007, Nanjing resumed production of MG sports cars and sports saloons. That year, SAIC Motor and Nanjing combined (the largest vehicle manufacturer in China). The UK division’s name was changed to MG Motor UK in 2009. From 2008 to 2010, the MG TF was produced in the former MG Rover Longbridge plant and distributed in the UK. The MG 6 was introduced in the UK in 2011 and was the first completely new MG in 16 years (assembled at the Longbridge factory). A supermini (the MG 3) was launched to the lineup in 2013, which helped MG Motor become the UK’s fastest-growing automaker in 2014.
Ford, which had acquired Land Rover from BMW in 2000, purchased the Rover brand, which had been held by BMW and leased to MG Rover. Ford sold the Jaguar Cars and Land Rover businesses, as well as the rights to the defunct Rover brand, to Tata Motors in 2008.
Who sold BMW Rover?
Rover produced 478,866 automobiles in 1994, the year British Aerospace sold the Rover Group to BMW. 19.78% of the total, or 94,716 vehicles, were Land Rovers. Nowadays, Solihull produces more cars than it did in 1968, when the Rover brand was at its height. Although there were doubts about the build quality and productivity, there was no denying that something was working. Rover now had a new design partner in the form of BMW, whether they liked it or not, but was it the correct partner?
Rover immediately brings to mind executive cars. Additionally, the brand BMW conjures up ideas of executive vehicles…
That was a union that was never going to succeed. In some areas that were essential to Rover’s revenue stream, there was model overlap. The top-of-the-line Rover 600 and 800 models have the most visible ones. BMW had no intention of supporting a direct competitor to the 3 and 5 Series.
How much did BMW get for selling Rover?
BMW kept the Cowley Plant, which has received significant investment to produce the “new” Mini, while selling other assets at market value and selling Land Rover to Ford for PS 1,800 million. BMW was referred to as a firm that “produces one saloon in three different sizes” at the time of the Rover acquisition.
Is Land Rover or BMW better?
The X5 was rated first among the premium SUV market by J.D. Power and Associates for reliability, with the Range Rover missing out on a slot in the top 3. If you’re searching for the most dependable alternative, that would be the X5. According to statistics on long-term dependability, the BMW is more dependable than the Range Rover when comparing used choices.
In terms of guarantee, the BMW provides a corrosion warranty for 12 years as opposed to the Range’s six years, which is the industry standard. For the first three years or up to 36,000 miles, BMW will provide free planned maintenance for the X5, so you won’t need to budget for oil changes or any other necessary maintenance.
Even though the Range Rover receives lower ratings for dependability, you can have some peace of mind thanks to the 3-year unlimited mileage guarantee. This will include both regular driving and towing of the car. If you’d like, you can purchase an extended warranty that would provide you coverage for up to five years or 75,000 miles. The Range comes with three years of breakdown coverage and recovery to the closest Land Rover dealer if you ever need it.
Which Range Rovers are powered by BMW?
I shared the enthusiasm of many other BMW lovers when I learned that the German automaker will be working with Land Rover to deliver V8 engines for more expensive vehicles, notably the top-of-the-line Range Rover P530. Why would BMW fans be thrilled about such a collaboration? because building a relationship between the two brands is really cool and because Range Rovers are pretty generally adored.
Only the aforementioned P530, which utilizes a slightly modified version of BMW’s “N63” 4.4 liter twin-turbocharged V8, is currently a Range Rover product to use a BMW V8 engine. The V8 still has 523 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque for Range Rover use. To handle some of the utility a Range Rover needs, it has been slightly modified.
It would have been totally natural for Range Rover supporters and consumers to worry that installing a BMW V8 in the engine bay might affect the vehicle’s ability to handle rough terrain. Ranges are robust, sturdy SUVs behind their glitzy exteriors, capable of off-roading that would put most Jeeps to shame. For this reason, Range Rover engines need to be a little bit tougher. It makes sense that BMW engines would be reluctant to be used in a Range Rover because they aren’t normally designed to handle the steep inclines and deep water wading that Range Rovers can handle.
But the Range Rover P530 was given a new, taller air intake on the BMW N63, enabling it to wade through up to 35.4 inches of water. It also received a new oil sump so that it could withstand the sharp angles and back-and-forth sloshing that a Range might subject it to without depriving the engine of oil.
The good thing about this is that BMW buyers may now be more likely to choose a Range Rover P530 over, say, an X7 because they can now purchase a car with greater off-road capability while still maintaining some BMW DNA. Additionally, BMW V8 or not, the P530 can still manage all a true Range needs to manage, according to Range Rover customers.
Why did Rover stop producing automobiles?
Since the “Phoenix Four” (John Towers, John Edwards, Nick Stephenson, and Beale) acquired Rover for PS10 in 2000 and pledged to resume volume production at 200,000 vehicles annually, the company has failed to achieve any of the goals outlined in either its initial business plan (to break even by 2002) or subsequent business plans.
What has become of the Rover name?
From 1904 to 2005, the British automaker Rover was the leading manufacturer. Before beginning to produce automobiles in 1904, the Rover Company was founded in 1878 as a manufacturer of bicycles. The company’s emblem was an iconic longship from the Viking era. Although Jaguar Land Rover now owns the trademark rights, the Rover brand is currently dormant and no vehicles are being produced under it.
The Rover brand maintained its identity despite being state-controlledly absorbed by the Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC) in 1967, as well as subsequent mergers, nationalizations, and demergers, first as a separate subsidiary division of LMC, and then through various groups within British Leyland (BL) throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s.
As it fell first into the hands of British Aerospace and subsequently into the control of BMW Group, the Rover marque thereafter became the main brand of the newly and eponymously renamed Rover Group, which also featured the actually stronger and more valuable brand names Land Rover and Mini. The brand saw a resurgence in the 1990s in its primary midsize car market because to financial investment made during BMW ownership and technology sharing with Honda.
The Phoenix Consortium founded the MG Rover Group at Longbridge after purchasing the Rover and related MG automobile operations of the Rover Group from BMW in 2000. Rover’s trademark was still owned by BMW, who gave MG Rover permission to use it under license. When the MG Rover Group went bankrupt in April 2005, production of vehicles bearing the Rover name ended. The assets of the MG Rover Group were subsequently divided between two Chinese automakers; SAIC Motor purchased some of the assets and used the technology it acquired to create a new Chinese line of Roewe-branded luxury saloons. By purchasing additional assets, Nanjing Automobile.
Ford purchased the Rover brand from BMW in 2006 for around PS6 million, exercising a first-choice purchase option that had been granted to them when it acquired Land Rover in 2000. In order to safeguard its brand, Ford rejoined the original Rover Company marques. Ford and Tata Motors of India came to an agreement in March 2008 for them to purchase Ford’s Jaguar Land Rover business, which will also include the Rover brand. According to the conditions of Ford’s acquisition of the name in 2006, the Rover brand is technically Land Rover’s property.
Which vehicle is cozier, a BMW or a Range Rover?
They both have a ton of safety features and technological alternatives, but the BMW would definitely be a better choice if you don’t plan to spend the most of your time off-road. Additionally, the new X7 has additional seating and is marginally more comfortable than the Range Rover.