The trademark is currently owned by the Chinese firm SAIC Motor, after being transferred from bankrupt subsidiary Nanjing Automotive which had acquired it with MG Rover Group in July 2005.

While running the original Wolseley business, which had a highly cyclical sales pattern, Herbert Austin searched for products with a steady demand.

By 1901 his fellow directors could not see future profit in motor vehicles and so with their blessing and the backing of the Vickers brothers Austin started a separate car manufacturing business still using the name Wolseley.

Leaving his creation, Wolseley, which he had made Britain's largest motor vehicle manufacturer, Austin obtained the backing of steel magnate Frank Kayser for his own enterprise.

Kayser provided funds through mortgages and loans, debentures and guarantees to the Midland Bank thereby allowing Austin to keep virtually total ownership of his own business through his personal savings.

[2] However, Austin's great rival, William Morris, was able to enter the industry proper (he first repaired cars) a little later funding his operation entirely from his own resources.

In the last week of April 1906 a large body of motorists travelled to Longbridge "where snow lay full three inches deep on the ground and was still falling fast" to see the new Austin car, a conventional four-cylinder model with chain drive.

After that Harvey Du Cros junior of the Swift Cycle Co and Austin each held approximately half of the ordinary capital.

[2] The Austin Motor Co. grew enormously during the First World War fulfilling government contracts for aircraft, shells, heavy guns and generating sets and 1,600 three-ton trucks most of which were sent to Russia.

Versions included cars, commercials and even a tractor, but sales volumes were never enough to fill the vast factory built during wartime.

At one point, the "Baby Austin" was built under licence by the fledgling BMW of Germany (as the Dixi); by the Japanese manufacturer Datsun; as the Bantam in the United States; and as the Rosengart in France.

They became best known as the first company to submit the Bantam Reconnaissance Car working prototype, saving time by using Austin nose and fender parts of what would evolve into the extremely successful and iconic WWII Willys MB "Jeep".

With the help of the Seven, Austin weathered the worst of the depression and remained profitable through the 1930s, producing a wider range of cars which was steadily updated by the introduction of all-steel bodies, Girling brakes, and synchromesh gearboxes.

[10] During the Second World War Austin continued building cars but also made trucks and aircraft, including Short Stirling and Avro Lancaster bombers.

The immediate post-war range was mainly similar to that of the late 1930s but did include the 16 hp, significant for having the company's first overhead valve engine.

From late 1950 to mid-1952 products, brochures and advertisements displayed in flowing script Austin of England as if in response to Morris' Nuffield Organization.

The principle of a transverse engine with gearbox in the sump and driving the front wheels was applied to larger cars, beginning with the 1100 of 1963, (although the Morris-badged version was launched 13 months earlier than the Austin, in August 1962), the 1800 of 1964 and the Maxi of 1969.

This meant that BMC had spent 10 years developing a new range of front-drive, transverse-engined models, while most competitors had only just started to make such changes.

Twelve months later it completed the purchase of Jaguar and in December 1966 changed its name from BMC to BMH, British Motor Holdings Limited.

It was criticised for its bulbous styling which earned it the nickname "Flying pig" as well as the doubtful build quality and indifferent reliability.

It was upgraded at the end of 1981 to become the Austin Ambassador (and gaining a hatchback) but by that time there was little that could be done to disguise the age of the design, and it was too late to make much of an impact on sales.

Austin revitalised its entry into the small family-car market in March 1983 with the launch of its all-new Maestro, a spacious five-door hatchback that replaced the elderly Allegro and Maxi and was popular in the early years of its production life, although sales had started to dip dramatically by the end of the decade.

The new car received praise for its interior space and comfort as well as its handling, but early build-quality problems took time to overcome.

Plans to replace the Metro with a radical new model, based on the ECV3 research vehicle and aiming for 100 mpg, led to the Austin AR6 of 1984–86, with several prototypes tested and production expected to start before the end of the decade.

Despite sales of both the Maestro and Montego being in decline by 1990, these ranges continued in production until 1994 and never wore a Rover badge on their bonnets in Britain.

Morgan had no rights to the brand itself and stated that he had no intention to trade, but rather registered the name as an effort to preserve the memory of the company.

[12] By 2021, a prototype electric vehicle named the Austin Arrow had been revealed and was seeking investors, with a supposed release date around late 2022.

Due to its strategic advantages over Morris's Cowley plant, Longbridge became British Leyland's main factory in the early 1970s.