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LEYLAND

31 entries

English maker of lorries, buses and trolleybuses, the company that gave its name to British Leyland.

Founded: 1896, as the Lancashire Steam Motor Company
Renamed: Leyland Motors in 1907
Role: Gave its name to British Leyland, formed in 1968
Truck business: Leyland Trucks, a subsidiary of PACCAR

Leyland Motors dates from 1896, when the Sumner and Spurrier families founded the Lancashire Steam Motor Company in the town of Leyland. It took the name Leyland Motors in 1907, after taking over Coulthards of Preston.

The company diversified into cars with the acquisitions of Triumph in 1960 and Rover in 1967, and gave its name to British Leyland when it merged with British Motor Holdings in 1968. The truck operation survives as Leyland Trucks, a PACCAR subsidiary.

1896Lancashire Steam Motor Company founded
1907Renamed Leyland Motors
1960Triumph acquired
1968Merger into British Leyland