British Leyland

British Leyland was a British automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd, following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partly nationalised in 1975, when the British government created a holding company called British Leyland, later renamed BL in 1978. It incorporated much of the British-owned motor vehicle industry, which in 1968 had a 40 percent share of the UK car market, and despite containing profitable marques such as Jaguar, Rover and Land Rover, as well as the best-selling Mini, it had a troubled history. BL was renamed the Rover Group in 1986, became a subsidiary of British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, and was then bought by BMW.