British Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC). It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd (later BL plc) in 1978. It incorporated much of the British owned motor vehicle industry, and held 40% of the UK car market, politics/4294709.stm" target="_blank">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4294709.stm with roots going back to 1895.
Despite containing profitable marques such as _Jaguar, Rover and Land Rover, as well as the best selling Mini, British Leyland had a troubled history. In 1986 it was renamed as the Rover Group, later to become MG Rover Group, which went bankrupt in 2005, bringing an end to mass car production by British owned manufacturers - with MG becoming part of Chinese Nanjing Automobile and Rover disappearing completely, with its brand being bought by Ford.
