 | |
| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1901 |
| Defunct | 1975 |
| Fate | Merged |
| Successor | British Motor Corporation |
| Headquarters | Birmingham, England, UK |
Key people | Thomas and Albert Vickers Herbert Austin J D Siddeley A J McCormack W R Morris |
Wolseley Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in early 1901 by the Vickers Armaments in conjunction with Herbert Austin. It initially made a full range, topped by large luxury cars, and dominated the market in the Edwardian era. The Vickers brothers died[note 1] and, without their guidance, Wolseley expanded rapidly after the war, manufacturing 12,000 cars in 1921, and remained the biggest motor manufacturer in Britain.
Over-expansion led to receivership in 1927 when it was bought from Vickers Limited by William Morris as a personal investment. He moved it into his Morris Motors empire just before the Second World War. After that, Wolseley products were "badge-engineered" Morris cars. Wolseley went with its sister businesses into BMC, BMH and British Leyland, where its name lapsed in 1975.
| Product type | Automotive marque |
|---|---|
| Owner | SAIC Motor |
| Discontinued | 1975 |
| Previous owners | Vickers, Sons and Maxim (1901–1927) W R Morris (1927–1935) Morris Motors Limited (1935–1952) BMC (1952–1967) British Leyland (1967–1986) Rover Group (1986–1988) BAe (1988–1994) BMW (1994–2000) MG Rover (2000–2005) NAC (2005–2007) |
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).