Rootes
Encyclopedia
The Rootes Group was a British automobile
manufacturer, which was based in the Midlands
and south of England. Rootes was the parent company of many well-known British marques, including Hillman
, Humber
, Singer
, Sunbeam, Talbot
, Commer
and Karrier
. At its height Rootes had plants in the Midlands at Coventry
and Birmingham
, in the south at Acton
, Luton
, Dunstable
, Maidstone
and Canterbury
, and in the West of Scotland
at Linwood. The company no longer exists, having been taken over in stages by Chrysler
, and subsequently sold to Peugeot
and, in part, Renault
.
Originally founded in Hawkhurst
, Kent
in 1913 by William Rootes as a car sales company. The firm moved to Maidstone
by the First World War, and during the war was involved in the repair of aero engines. By 1924 Rootes was the largest truck and car distributor in the United Kingdom
. Rootes grew and took over other companies, and became one of the earliest advocates of the policy of "badge engineering
". Among take-overs were Hillman
, Humber
and Commer
in 1929; Clement, Talbot
and Sunbeam in 1935, British Light Steel Pressings
(1937) and Thrupp & Maberly
(1926). Hillman was intended to be the basic brand, Singer slightly more upmarket, Sunbeam was the sports brand, while Humber made luxury models. Commer and Karrier were the commercial vehicle brands, with Commer manufacturing light van
s with the Karrier badge appearing on heavy vans and light duty trucks (mainly for municipal use).
, Hillman Hunter, Humber Super Snipe
and the Sunbeam Alpine
.
William Rootes built the Rootes Group using specific brands for each market niche.
With the onset of the Second World War Rootes, like most other British car manufacturers, became involved with the production of armaments. In 1940, under the Government's shadow factory scheme, Rootes built its massive assembly plant in Ryton-on-Dunsmore
, near Coventry
, initially manufacturing aircraft, one of the first types being the Bristol Blenheim
. Production included another RAF
heavy bomber, the Handley Page Halifax
. These were built at a shadow factory at Speke Airport near Liverpool
. Rootes also manufactured military vehicles, based on the Humber and Commer.
Rootes had a rare lapse of business judgement shortly after the end of War II: when he visited the Volkswagen
factory in Wolfsburg
to consider its value for war reparations, he considered that it – and the Beetle
– had no value.
Following the war, Rootes also sponsored satellite manufacturing operations around the world, notably in Australasia
(Rootes Australia
) and the Middle East
. The best known example of the latter was the Iran
ian-built Paykan
, based on the Hillman Hunter
. In 1950 it acquired Tilling-Stevens, a truck and bus manufacturer based in Maidstone
, Kent.
Rootes successfully sold a range of cars which were priced at a slight premium to their major home market competitors, justified on the basis that they offered a level of superiority in design and finish.
Studebaker
stylist Raymond Loewy
was a design consultant to Rootes; evidence of his influence is most readily seen in the 1956 Audax range of cars, which included the contemporary Hillman Minx
, a model also produced under licence by Isuzu
of Japan.
, based on a Sulzer Brothers
concept. This was the TS3 2-stroke 3-cylinder engine, with 2 opposed inward facing pistons per cylinder, which drove the crankshaft through rockers. The 3.25 litre engine developed 90 hp, equivalent to contemporary 4-stroke diesel engines of more than twice the capacity.
The engine was used in Commer trucks as well as an industrial engine. Production ceased in 1968 after the Chrysler takeover.
During the 1950s, Rootes's promotion included a strategy of participation in major UK and European car rallies. Stirling Moss
was their top driver, and the Sunbeam-Talbot 90
's win in the 1955 Monte Carlo Rally
was the most significant victory.
In 1968, Rootes entered a factory team in the London-Sydney Marathon
, driving a Hillman Hunter
. Andrew Cowan gained what was regarded as a surprise victory against stiff competition from factory teams with bigger budgets.
convertible was moderately successful in the United States market. Rootes considered that the Alpine's sales would be improved with a more powerful model. As a result, in 1964 they introduced the Tiger
— a V8 derivative of the Alpine, powered by a 4.2 litre Ford
V8 engine
. Carroll Shelby
was involved in the development of the Tiger prototype.
A 4.7 litre model followed in 1967, but few were built as it was considered inappropriate for a Chrysler vehicle to be powered by Ford. Consideration was given to installing a Chrysler V8 in the Tiger, but their engines were larger and heavier than the compact Ford power plants.
In 1963, Rootes introduced the Hillman Imp
, a compact rear engined saloon with an innovative all-aluminium
OHC engine, based on a Coventry Climax
engine design (originally used for a fire pump). It was intended to be a response from Rootes to rival BMC
's popular Mini
, and a massive new factory in Linwood in Renfrewshire
was built for its assembly. The move to Linwood was forced upon the company by the British government, which had introduced the principle of "Industrial Development Certificates" (IDCs). By their use, it was intended to concentrate new factory building in depressed areas of Britain. Thus, Rootes were not allowed to expand their existing Ryton plant (itself provided by the Government for war production), but instead were obliged to build in an area of Scotland
where there was a shortage of work. The Linwood plant was a disaster for many reasons — chiefly the West of Scotland
workforce who had no experience in motor vehicle assembly, and the build quality and reliability of the cars inevitably suffered. Another problem was that the component suppliers were still based in the Midlands, and the company incurred further costs in transporting half-finished engine castings from Linwood to be machined at Ryton and returned to Linwood once they had been assembled — at the same time as completed Imps returned south again, resulting in a 600 miles (965.6 km) round trip!
The Imp itself was underdeveloped, and the aforementioned build quality and unreliability problems, coupled with buyer apathy towards the quirky design was reflected in poor sales. After a reasonably successful start in 1963-65, the Imp's fortunes in the marketplace went into terminal decline. Lost production caused by constant strike action by the Linwood workforce only added to the problems, and the mess was further exacerbated by crippling warranty claims. Rootes had no money left to develop its other models, which soon left the company in an uncompetitive position.
born business executive, who at the time was Managing Director of Massey-Ferguson in the UK, to be the new Managing Director of the Rootes Group: Hunt's appointment was made with the support of the Chrysler Corporation which was building its holding and control over the business during this period.
plant in London, with knock-on problems down the supply chain. By the mid-1960s, Rootes was progressively taken over by the Chrysler Corporation of the United States
, following huge losses amid the commercial failure of the troubled Imp. The company's financial year ran to 31 July, and in the year ended 31 July 1967 Rootes was able to report a pre-tax profit of just £3.8 Million. It was the first reported profit since 1964 and compared with a pretax loss of £10.7 million in the year ending in 1966. Lack of funds for new model investment was a striking feature of the company's final decade.
Chrysler was also only too keen to take control of the struggling firm as it wished to have its own wholly independent European subsidiaries like arch rivals Ford
and GM. Chrysler took over Simca
of France and Barreiros
of Spain at the same time, merging it with Rootes (now renamed "Chrysler UK") to create Chrysler Europe
. The Rootes name had largely vanished by 1971, and soon its other brand names were progressively phased out as the 1970s progressed. Only Hillman was left by 1977, when it too was shelved in favour of the Chrysler name. The Commer name was also phased out in the 1970s, the group's van and truck models mostly assuming the Dodge
nameplate by 1976.
In "Iacocca — an Autobiography", former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca
was disparaging of the Rootes operation, saying Chrysler should never have bought it. Chrysler UK soldiered on with a range of worthy but increasingly outmoded rear-wheel drive family cars like the Hillman Avenger
(introduced in 1970) and Hillman Hunter
(introduced in 1966), while the Imp – which by now had most of its teething problems ironed out – was largely ignored by the new management.
In the late 1960s, Chrysler endeavoured to market the Rootes cars in the US. These efforts proved unsuccessful. Marketing in the US was impeded by an inability to offer cars for sale during part of 1968, as the Rootes cars could not comply with exhaust emission requirements.
In the early 1970s, with the rise of interest in sub-compact cars, Chrysler offered the Hillman Avenger in North America
as the Plymouth Cricket
. This attempt was aborted after only two years. At the same time, Chrysler's Dodge Division offered the Dodge Colt
as its "subcompact" — sourced from Mitsubishi in Japan. The Colt proved a popular and reliable car, hastening the Cricket's demise.
However, Chrysler of Argentina
commenced manufacturing the Hillman Avenger based Dodge 1800, and this car continued in production until 1990. In its last 10 years of production it was badged as a Volkswagen after that firm acquired Chrysler's Argentine business. There was also a Brazil
ian variant until 1980.
Chrysler UK introduced several new models in the 1970s: a British-assembled Chrysler Alpine (sold in France as the Simca 1307/1308) was introduced in 1976, and the Avenger-based Chrysler Sunbeam
2-door hatchback was introduced in 1977. Also, Chrysler UK made a significant contribution to the design of Chrysler's European range. As well as the Alpine and Sunbeam, there was the saloon derivative of the Alpine – the Talbot Solara – and Chrysler/Simca Horizon. Both of these cars were awarded "European Car of the Year
awards, and the Horizon was the basis for the US Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni
, which were very successful for Chrysler.
The Imp was finally laid to rest in 1976, and the Hunter followed it three years later (although it continued to be produced in Iran). Indeed, componentry for the Iranian version of the car was a successful UK export during the 1980s.
Only the Avenger-based Chrysler Sunbeam
hatchback, launched in 1977 kept the Rootes lineage alive, although the Alpine name was still in use and later Alpine and Solara special edition models were given the old Rootes model names, Minx and Rapier. The rights to the Rapier name remained with the successors of the company, and were eventually resurrected again on a few "limited edition" Peugeot
models. There was also a special "Sceptre" edition of the 205, 405 and the 605 SRi models. This used a black plastic badge with the chrome effect 'Sceptre' cursive script similar to that on the sideflashes of the '60's saloons. In the case of the peugeot cars the sceptre badging is applied to the bootlid and lower aft part of the front wing.
Chrysler had spent much of the 1970s unsuccessfully trying to integrate its Rootes and Simca
ranges into one, coherent whole. The traditionally engineered, rear wheel drive cars of the British division had limited appeal outside the UK, although the Avenger and Hunter - the first locally assembled car to reach a total of 30,000 units sold in its 12-year lifespan - were both relatively successful in New Zealand. Hunter production continued there and in Ireland until 1979, and it was built in Iran by Iran Khodro as the Peykan for many years more. Iran Khodro now produce locally manufactured models of the Peugeot 405 saloon amongst others.
Unfortunately, with its problems in the US, Chrysler did not have the capital to invest in refreshing their entire product range, and sales of the older designs stagnated in the face of more modern competition. Also, the production facilities were outmoded, industrial relations problems were persistent, and the products had a poor reputation for quality.
In the face of massive losses, and the risk of significant unemployment if the factories closed, the Ryton and Linwood factories were the subject of frequent government bail-outs.
Despite the government assistance, the weight of problems bearing on Chrysler Europe resulted in its collapse in 1977, leading to the company's 1978 takeover by PSA Peugeot-Citroen
. PSA soon wielded the axe over the troubled Linwood factory in Scotland, and exhumed the Talbot
marque from the pages of Rootes' history to re-badge the former Chrysler models. Whilst Ryton was saved, PSA took little interest in the heavy commercial vehicles and the former Commer/Dodge/Karrier truck and van factory was run in conjunction with the trucks division of Renault
. After the withdrawal of the last Dodge-derived trucks (latterly badged as Renaults) it became a production plant for engines for Renault Véhicules Industriels
.
The first Rootes model to be discontinued under Peugeot's ownership was the Hunter in 1979, and its production tooling subsequently went to Iran
, where the Paykan
went into local production, which continued until 2004. It remains a common sight throughout the Middle East
, especially as a taxi. The closure of Linwood in 1981 spelled the end (in Europe at least) for the Avenger. Chrysler had retained the rights to the car, and continued its production in Argentina
. The Simca-based models (the Horizon, Alpine and Solara) continued to be built at Ryton using the resurrected Talbot badge for the first half of the 1980s. Eventually however, PSA abandoned the three marque strategy, and the Horizon replacement, developed as the Talbot Arizona became the Peugeot 309
in 1986, and was the first Peugeot badged car to be assembled at the Ryton plant. This was not an entirely successful car since its styling was mismatched with the rest of the range, looking somewhat like an enlarged Simca 1108. The Talbot badge was discontinued on passengers cars in 1987 and commercial vehicles in 1995, whilst Ryton went on to assemble the Peugeot 405
and 306
.
Ryton began assembling its last Peugeot, the 206
, in 1998. At the height of the car's success, the plant was working at capacity to satisfy demand. Despite this however, Ryton's importance in PSA's overall strategy was always marginal at best — merely being an assembly operation with limited production capacity compared to PSA's main factories in France and Spain. The writing was on the wall for Ryton when Peugeot announced that the new 207
would not be assembled at the former Rootes plant, and in April 2006, after years of speculation surrounding Ryton's future, the PSA Group announced that residual 206 production would move to Eastern Europe.
Production at the plant ceased in December 2006. It marked the end of nearly 60 years of car manufacturing at Ryton, and severed the motor industry's final remaining link with the Rootes Group. The plant closed on 8 January 2007 with the loss of some 2,300 jobs and has since been demolished.
, which bore the name. On 1 January 2007, in line with the other 40 dealerships within its business group, the name was changed from Rootes Maidstone, to become Robins & Day Maidstone. Robins & Day is wholly owned and operated by Peugeot UK as opposed to other Peugeot dealers that are operated like many car dealerships, on a franchise basis.
Rootes' contribution to Coventry
's history is commemorated by the University of Warwick
in the naming of Rootes Hall, one of its largest Halls of Residence, on the main campus site on the outskirts of Coventry.
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
manufacturer, which was based in the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
and south of England. Rootes was the parent company of many well-known British marques, including Hillman
Hillman
Hillman is a British automobile marque created by the Hillman Motor Car Company, founded in 1907. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had built bicycles...
, Humber
Humber (car)
Humber is a dormant British automobile marque which could date its beginnings to Thomas Humber's bicycle company founded in 1868. Following their involvement in Humber through Hillman in 1928 the Rootes brothers acquired a controlling interest and joined the Humber board in 1932 making Humber part...
, Singer
Singer (car)
Singer was an automobile company founded in 1905 in Coventry, England. It was acquired by the Rootes Group of the United Kingdom in 1956, who continued the brand until 1970...
, Sunbeam, Talbot
Talbot
Talbot was an automobile marque that existed from 1903 to 1986, with a hiatus from 1960 to 1978, under a number of different owners, latterly under Peugeot...
, Commer
Commer
Commer became known in later years as a maker of vans for the British Post Office—particularly the Commer FC which was introduced in 1960 with many body styles, including a 1500 cc van. After engine and interior upgrades it was renamed the PB in 1967 and the SpaceVan in 1974...
and Karrier
Karrier
Karrier is a marque of car and commercial vehicle, the origins of which can be traced back to Clayton and Company, a 1904 company from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK. In 1908, they started making Karrier cars and in 1920 changed the company name to Karrier Motors Ltd.In 1929, Karrier started...
. At its height Rootes had plants in the Midlands at Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, in the south at Acton
Acton, London
Acton is a district of west London, England, located in the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross.At the time of the 2001 census, Acton, comprising the wards of East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 53,689 people...
, Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, Dunstable
Dunstable
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
, Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
and Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, and in the West of Scotland
West of Scotland
West of Scotland may refer to:*West of Scotland, an electoral region of the Scottish Parliament*Informally, an area comprising Argyll, Ayrshire, Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire, and Renfrewshire*West of Scotland Football Club*West of Scotland Cricket Club...
at Linwood. The company no longer exists, having been taken over in stages by Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
, and subsequently sold to Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
and, in part, Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
.
Early history
Hawkhurst
Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. The parish lies to the south-east of Tunbridge Wells. Hawkhurst itself is virtually two villages...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
in 1913 by William Rootes as a car sales company. The firm moved to Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
by the First World War, and during the war was involved in the repair of aero engines. By 1924 Rootes was the largest truck and car distributor in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Rootes grew and took over other companies, and became one of the earliest advocates of the policy of "badge engineering
Badge engineering
Badge engineering is an ironic term that describes the rebadging of one product as another...
". Among take-overs were Hillman
Hillman
Hillman is a British automobile marque created by the Hillman Motor Car Company, founded in 1907. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had built bicycles...
, Humber
Humber (car)
Humber is a dormant British automobile marque which could date its beginnings to Thomas Humber's bicycle company founded in 1868. Following their involvement in Humber through Hillman in 1928 the Rootes brothers acquired a controlling interest and joined the Humber board in 1932 making Humber part...
and Commer
Commer
Commer became known in later years as a maker of vans for the British Post Office—particularly the Commer FC which was introduced in 1960 with many body styles, including a 1500 cc van. After engine and interior upgrades it was renamed the PB in 1967 and the SpaceVan in 1974...
in 1929; Clement, Talbot
Talbot
Talbot was an automobile marque that existed from 1903 to 1986, with a hiatus from 1960 to 1978, under a number of different owners, latterly under Peugeot...
and Sunbeam in 1935, British Light Steel Pressings
British Light Steel Pressings
British Light Steel Pressings Ltd was a company in Acton, London producing bodies for the vehicle industry.British Light Steel Pressings Ltd was formed in 1930. In its early years it made pressings for various purposes. In 1937 it was taken over by the Rootes Group, to make body shells for Sunbeam...
(1937) and Thrupp & Maberly
Thrupp & Maberly
Thrupp & Maberly was a British coachbuilding company based in London, England.-Origin:This business was created by a merger in 1858 of the carriage builders Joseph Thrupp, who established his business in George Street in 1760, and George Maberly.As far back as the 1880s Thrupp & Maberly began its...
(1926). Hillman was intended to be the basic brand, Singer slightly more upmarket, Sunbeam was the sports brand, while Humber made luxury models. Commer and Karrier were the commercial vehicle brands, with Commer manufacturing light van
Van
A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...
s with the Karrier badge appearing on heavy vans and light duty trucks (mainly for municipal use).
Business strategy
Rootes was best known for manufacturing solid, dependable, well engineered middle-market vehicles. Famous Rootes models include the Hillman MinxHillman Minx
The Hillman Minx was a series of middle-sized family cars produced under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group between 1932 and 1970...
, Hillman Hunter, Humber Super Snipe
Humber Super Snipe
The Humber Super Snipe was a car produced by the British-based Humber car company, part of the Rootes Group, from 1938 to 1967.-Pre-war Super Snipe:...
and the Sunbeam Alpine
Sunbeam Alpine
The Sunbeam Alpine is a sporty two-seat open car from Rootes Group's Sunbeam car marque. The original was launched in 1953 as the first vehicle from Sunbeam-Talbot to bear the Sunbeam name alone since the 1935 takeover of Sunbeam and Talbot by the Rootes Group....
.
William Rootes built the Rootes Group using specific brands for each market niche.
World War II
Ryton-on-Dunsmore
Ryton-on-Dunsmore is a village and civil parish in the Rugby district of Warwickshire, and is south-east of Coventry, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 1,672 in the parish. The A45 dual carriageway passes through the village....
, near Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, initially manufacturing aircraft, one of the first types being the Bristol Blenheim
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter...
. Production included another RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
heavy bomber, the Handley Page Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
. These were built at a shadow factory at Speke Airport near Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Rootes also manufactured military vehicles, based on the Humber and Commer.
Rootes had a rare lapse of business judgement shortly after the end of War II: when he visited the Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
factory in Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig , and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG...
to consider its value for war reparations, he considered that it – and the Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
– had no value.
Post-war development
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
(Rootes Australia
Rootes Australia
Rootes Australia was the Australian affiliate of the Rootes Group, a British motor vehicle manufacturing company.The company was formed immediately after the Second World War initially operating as an importing and distribution firm. It began assembling Hillman Minx vehicles at Port Melbourne in...
) and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. The best known example of the latter was the Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian-built Paykan
Paykan
]The Paykan was an automobile produced by the Iranian company Iran Khodro Industrial Group. The car was very popular in Iran from the late 1960s to the late 1990s...
, based on the Hillman Hunter
Hillman Hunter
Rootes Arrow was the manufacturer's name for a range of cars produced under several badge-engineered marques by the Rootes Group from 1966 to 1979. It is amongst the last Rootes designs, developed with no influence from future owner Chrysler...
. In 1950 it acquired Tilling-Stevens, a truck and bus manufacturer based in Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
, Kent.
Rootes successfully sold a range of cars which were priced at a slight premium to their major home market competitors, justified on the basis that they offered a level of superiority in design and finish.
Studebaker
Studebaker
Studebaker Corporation was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the...
stylist Raymond Loewy
Raymond Loewy
Raymond Loewy was an industrial designer, and the first to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine, on October 31, 1949. Born in France, he spent most of his professional career in the United States...
was a design consultant to Rootes; evidence of his influence is most readily seen in the 1956 Audax range of cars, which included the contemporary Hillman Minx
Hillman Minx
The Hillman Minx was a series of middle-sized family cars produced under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group between 1932 and 1970...
, a model also produced under licence by Isuzu
Isuzu
, is a Japanese car, commercial vehicle and heavy truck manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. In 2005, Isuzu became the world's largest manufacturer of medium to heavy duty trucks. It has assembly and manufacturing plants in the Japanese city of Fujisawa, as well as in the prefectures...
of Japan.
Engineering innovation
In 1954, Rootes introduced a novel supercharged diesel engineDiesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
, based on a Sulzer Brothers
Sulzer (manufacturer)
Sulzer Ltd. is a Swiss industrial engineering and manufacturing firm, founded by Salomon Sulzer-Bernet in 1775 and established as Sulzer Brothers Ltd. in 1834 in Winterthur, Switzerland. Today it is a publicly owned company with international subsidiaries...
concept. This was the TS3 2-stroke 3-cylinder engine, with 2 opposed inward facing pistons per cylinder, which drove the crankshaft through rockers. The 3.25 litre engine developed 90 hp, equivalent to contemporary 4-stroke diesel engines of more than twice the capacity.
The engine was used in Commer trucks as well as an industrial engine. Production ceased in 1968 after the Chrysler takeover.
Rootes in competition
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
was their top driver, and the Sunbeam-Talbot 90
Sunbeam-Talbot 90
The Sunbeam Talbot 90 was a sporting car built by the Rootes Group in Ryton Coventry under their Sunbeam-Talbot brand.The car was launched in 1948 along with the smaller engined Sunbeam-Talbot 80 but many features dated back to the pre war Sunbeam-Talbot Ten. The body was completely new and...
's win in the 1955 Monte Carlo Rally
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rally Monte Carlo is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and...
was the most significant victory.
In 1968, Rootes entered a factory team in the London-Sydney Marathon
London-Sydney Marathon
The London–Sydney Marathon was a car rally from the United Kingdom to Australia. It was first run in 1968, a second event was organised in 1977 and a third in 1993 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original. Two further rallies have subsequently been contested in 2000 and 2004.The original...
, driving a Hillman Hunter
Hillman Hunter
Rootes Arrow was the manufacturer's name for a range of cars produced under several badge-engineered marques by the Rootes Group from 1966 to 1979. It is amongst the last Rootes designs, developed with no influence from future owner Chrysler...
. Andrew Cowan gained what was regarded as a surprise victory against stiff competition from factory teams with bigger budgets.
Sunbeam Tiger
During the 1960s, Sunbeam's AlpineSunbeam Alpine
The Sunbeam Alpine is a sporty two-seat open car from Rootes Group's Sunbeam car marque. The original was launched in 1953 as the first vehicle from Sunbeam-Talbot to bear the Sunbeam name alone since the 1935 takeover of Sunbeam and Talbot by the Rootes Group....
convertible was moderately successful in the United States market. Rootes considered that the Alpine's sales would be improved with a more powerful model. As a result, in 1964 they introduced the Tiger
Sunbeam Tiger
The Sunbeam Tiger was a muscle car version of the British Rootes Group's Sunbeam Alpine roadster.-Development:The West Coast Sales Manager of Rootes American Motors Inc., Ian Garrad, realized that the Alpine's image was that of a touring car rather than a sports car, and he set about changing its...
— a V8 derivative of the Alpine, powered by a 4.2 litre Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
V8 engine
Petrol engine
A petrol engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition, designed to run on petrol and similar volatile fuels....
. Carroll Shelby
Carroll Shelby
Carroll Hall Shelby is an American retired automotive designer and racing driver. He is most well known for making Mustangs for Ford Motor Company known as Mustang Cobras which he has done since 1965...
was involved in the development of the Tiger prototype.
A 4.7 litre model followed in 1967, but few were built as it was considered inappropriate for a Chrysler vehicle to be powered by Ford. Consideration was given to installing a Chrysler V8 in the Tiger, but their engines were larger and heavier than the compact Ford power plants.
Hillman Imp and the move to Linwood
Hillman Imp
The Hillman Imp is a compact, rear-engined saloon car that was manufactured under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group from 1963 to 1976...
, a compact rear engined saloon with an innovative all-aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
OHC engine, based on a Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
engine design (originally used for a fire pump). It was intended to be a response from Rootes to rival BMC
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
's popular Mini
Mini
The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
, and a massive new factory in Linwood in Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
was built for its assembly. The move to Linwood was forced upon the company by the British government, which had introduced the principle of "Industrial Development Certificates" (IDCs). By their use, it was intended to concentrate new factory building in depressed areas of Britain. Thus, Rootes were not allowed to expand their existing Ryton plant (itself provided by the Government for war production), but instead were obliged to build in an area of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
where there was a shortage of work. The Linwood plant was a disaster for many reasons — chiefly the West of Scotland
West of Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
West of Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
workforce who had no experience in motor vehicle assembly, and the build quality and reliability of the cars inevitably suffered. Another problem was that the component suppliers were still based in the Midlands, and the company incurred further costs in transporting half-finished engine castings from Linwood to be machined at Ryton and returned to Linwood once they had been assembled — at the same time as completed Imps returned south again, resulting in a 600 miles (965.6 km) round trip!
The Imp itself was underdeveloped, and the aforementioned build quality and unreliability problems, coupled with buyer apathy towards the quirky design was reflected in poor sales. After a reasonably successful start in 1963-65, the Imp's fortunes in the marketplace went into terminal decline. Lost production caused by constant strike action by the Linwood workforce only added to the problems, and the mess was further exacerbated by crippling warranty claims. Rootes had no money left to develop its other models, which soon left the company in an uncompetitive position.
Management Succession
Following the death in 1964 of Lord Rootes, his son, also christened William Rootes, became the second Lord Rootes, and also became the new chairman of Rootes Motors. On 1 May 1967 Lord Rootes appointed Gilbert Hunt, a WolverhamptonWolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
born business executive, who at the time was Managing Director of Massey-Ferguson in the UK, to be the new Managing Director of the Rootes Group: Hunt's appointment was made with the support of the Chrysler Corporation which was building its holding and control over the business during this period.
Chrysler (1967-78)
It has been suggested that the demise of Rootes began with losses due to industrial relations problems at the BLSPBritish Light Steel Pressings
British Light Steel Pressings Ltd was a company in Acton, London producing bodies for the vehicle industry.British Light Steel Pressings Ltd was formed in 1930. In its early years it made pressings for various purposes. In 1937 it was taken over by the Rootes Group, to make body shells for Sunbeam...
plant in London, with knock-on problems down the supply chain. By the mid-1960s, Rootes was progressively taken over by the Chrysler Corporation of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, following huge losses amid the commercial failure of the troubled Imp. The company's financial year ran to 31 July, and in the year ended 31 July 1967 Rootes was able to report a pre-tax profit of just £3.8 Million. It was the first reported profit since 1964 and compared with a pretax loss of £10.7 million in the year ending in 1966. Lack of funds for new model investment was a striking feature of the company's final decade.
Chrysler was also only too keen to take control of the struggling firm as it wished to have its own wholly independent European subsidiaries like arch rivals Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and GM. Chrysler took over Simca
Simca
Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat. It was directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by the Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi...
of France and Barreiros
Barreiros (manufacturer)
Barreiros was a Spanish manufacturer of engines, trucks, buses, tractors and automobiles.-Barreiros Diesel:The company was founded in 1954 as Barreiros Diesel S.A. by Eduardo Barreiros and based in Madrid...
of Spain at the same time, merging it with Rootes (now renamed "Chrysler UK") to create Chrysler Europe
Chrysler Europe
Chrysler Europe was a division of the Chrysler Corporation that operated between 1967 and 1979.-Formation:In the 1960s, Chrysler sought to become a world producer of automobiles. The company had never had much success outside North America, contrasting with Ford's worldwide reach and General...
. The Rootes name had largely vanished by 1971, and soon its other brand names were progressively phased out as the 1970s progressed. Only Hillman was left by 1977, when it too was shelved in favour of the Chrysler name. The Commer name was also phased out in the 1970s, the group's van and truck models mostly assuming the Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
nameplate by 1976.
In "Iacocca — an Autobiography", former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca is an American businessman known for engineering the Mustang, the unsuccessful Ford Pinto, being fired from Ford Motor Company, and his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s...
was disparaging of the Rootes operation, saying Chrysler should never have bought it. Chrysler UK soldiered on with a range of worthy but increasingly outmoded rear-wheel drive family cars like the Hillman Avenger
Hillman Avenger
The Hillman Avenger was a rear-wheel drive small family car originally manufactured under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group from 1970–1976, and made by Chrysler Europe from 1976–1981 as the Chrysler Avenger and finally the Talbot Avenger...
(introduced in 1970) and Hillman Hunter
Hillman Hunter
Rootes Arrow was the manufacturer's name for a range of cars produced under several badge-engineered marques by the Rootes Group from 1966 to 1979. It is amongst the last Rootes designs, developed with no influence from future owner Chrysler...
(introduced in 1966), while the Imp – which by now had most of its teething problems ironed out – was largely ignored by the new management.
In the late 1960s, Chrysler endeavoured to market the Rootes cars in the US. These efforts proved unsuccessful. Marketing in the US was impeded by an inability to offer cars for sale during part of 1968, as the Rootes cars could not comply with exhaust emission requirements.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
as the Plymouth Cricket
Hillman Avenger
The Hillman Avenger was a rear-wheel drive small family car originally manufactured under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group from 1970–1976, and made by Chrysler Europe from 1976–1981 as the Chrysler Avenger and finally the Talbot Avenger...
. This attempt was aborted after only two years. At the same time, Chrysler's Dodge Division offered the Dodge Colt
Dodge Colt
The Dodge Colt and the similar Plymouth Champ and Plymouth Colt, were subcompact cars sold by Dodge and Plymouth from 1970 to 1994. They were captive imports from Mitsubishi Motors, initially twins of the rear-wheel drive Galant and Lancer families before shifting to the smaller front-wheel drive...
as its "subcompact" — sourced from Mitsubishi in Japan. The Colt proved a popular and reliable car, hastening the Cricket's demise.
However, Chrysler of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
commenced manufacturing the Hillman Avenger based Dodge 1800, and this car continued in production until 1990. In its last 10 years of production it was badged as a Volkswagen after that firm acquired Chrysler's Argentine business. There was also a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian variant until 1980.
Chrysler UK introduced several new models in the 1970s: a British-assembled Chrysler Alpine (sold in France as the Simca 1307/1308) was introduced in 1976, and the Avenger-based Chrysler Sunbeam
Chrysler Sunbeam
The Chrysler Sunbeam is a small supermini 3-door hatchback manufactured by Chrysler Europe at the former Rootes Group factory in Linwood in Scotland. The Sunbeam's development was funded by a British government grant with the aim to keep the Linwood plant running, and the small car was based on the...
2-door hatchback was introduced in 1977. Also, Chrysler UK made a significant contribution to the design of Chrysler's European range. As well as the Alpine and Sunbeam, there was the saloon derivative of the Alpine – the Talbot Solara – and Chrysler/Simca Horizon. Both of these cars were awarded "European Car of the Year
European Car of the Year
The European Car of the Year award was established in 1964 by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organisers of the award are Auto , Autocar , Autopista , Autovisie , L'Automobile Magazine , Stern and Vi Bilägare .The voting jury consists of motoring...
awards, and the Horizon was the basis for the US Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni
Dodge Omni
The Dodge Omni and the similar Plymouth Horizon were front wheel drive cars introduced by the Dodge and Plymouth divisions of the Chrysler Corporation in North America in 1978, and were based on a European Simca-based design of the same name...
, which were very successful for Chrysler.
Only the Avenger-based Chrysler Sunbeam
Chrysler Sunbeam
The Chrysler Sunbeam is a small supermini 3-door hatchback manufactured by Chrysler Europe at the former Rootes Group factory in Linwood in Scotland. The Sunbeam's development was funded by a British government grant with the aim to keep the Linwood plant running, and the small car was based on the...
hatchback, launched in 1977 kept the Rootes lineage alive, although the Alpine name was still in use and later Alpine and Solara special edition models were given the old Rootes model names, Minx and Rapier. The rights to the Rapier name remained with the successors of the company, and were eventually resurrected again on a few "limited edition" Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
models. There was also a special "Sceptre" edition of the 205, 405 and the 605 SRi models. This used a black plastic badge with the chrome effect 'Sceptre' cursive script similar to that on the sideflashes of the '60's saloons. In the case of the peugeot cars the sceptre badging is applied to the bootlid and lower aft part of the front wing.
Chrysler had spent much of the 1970s unsuccessfully trying to integrate its Rootes and Simca
Simca
Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat. It was directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by the Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi...
ranges into one, coherent whole. The traditionally engineered, rear wheel drive cars of the British division had limited appeal outside the UK, although the Avenger and Hunter - the first locally assembled car to reach a total of 30,000 units sold in its 12-year lifespan - were both relatively successful in New Zealand. Hunter production continued there and in Ireland until 1979, and it was built in Iran by Iran Khodro as the Peykan for many years more. Iran Khodro now produce locally manufactured models of the Peugeot 405 saloon amongst others.
Unfortunately, with its problems in the US, Chrysler did not have the capital to invest in refreshing their entire product range, and sales of the older designs stagnated in the face of more modern competition. Also, the production facilities were outmoded, industrial relations problems were persistent, and the products had a poor reputation for quality.
In the face of massive losses, and the risk of significant unemployment if the factories closed, the Ryton and Linwood factories were the subject of frequent government bail-outs.
Despite the government assistance, the weight of problems bearing on Chrysler Europe resulted in its collapse in 1977, leading to the company's 1978 takeover by PSA Peugeot-Citroen
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
. PSA soon wielded the axe over the troubled Linwood factory in Scotland, and exhumed the Talbot
Talbot
Talbot was an automobile marque that existed from 1903 to 1986, with a hiatus from 1960 to 1978, under a number of different owners, latterly under Peugeot...
marque from the pages of Rootes' history to re-badge the former Chrysler models. Whilst Ryton was saved, PSA took little interest in the heavy commercial vehicles and the former Commer/Dodge/Karrier truck and van factory was run in conjunction with the trucks division of Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
. After the withdrawal of the last Dodge-derived trucks (latterly badged as Renaults) it became a production plant for engines for Renault Véhicules Industriels
Renault Trucks
Renault Trucks is a French truck manufacturer with its corporate headquarters at Saint-Priest near Lyon. Originally part of Renault, it has been owned by Volvo Group since 2001....
.
Peugeot (1978–2007)
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, where the Paykan
Paykan
]The Paykan was an automobile produced by the Iranian company Iran Khodro Industrial Group. The car was very popular in Iran from the late 1960s to the late 1990s...
went into local production, which continued until 2004. It remains a common sight throughout the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, especially as a taxi. The closure of Linwood in 1981 spelled the end (in Europe at least) for the Avenger. Chrysler had retained the rights to the car, and continued its production in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. The Simca-based models (the Horizon, Alpine and Solara) continued to be built at Ryton using the resurrected Talbot badge for the first half of the 1980s. Eventually however, PSA abandoned the three marque strategy, and the Horizon replacement, developed as the Talbot Arizona became the Peugeot 309
Peugeot 309
The Peugeot 309 was a small family car manufactured between 1985 and 1993 in England and France.The 309 was originally intended to be badged as a Talbot and, as development progressed, to be called the Talbot Arizona...
in 1986, and was the first Peugeot badged car to be assembled at the Ryton plant. This was not an entirely successful car since its styling was mismatched with the rest of the range, looking somewhat like an enlarged Simca 1108. The Talbot badge was discontinued on passengers cars in 1987 and commercial vehicles in 1995, whilst Ryton went on to assemble the Peugeot 405
Peugeot 405
The Peugeot 405 is a large family car released by the French automaker Peugeot in July 1987 and which continues to be manufactured under licence outside France. It used TU/XU petrol and XUD diesel engines....
and 306
Peugeot 306
The Peugeot 306 is a small family car built by the French car manufacturer Peugeot from 1993 to 2002 replacing the 309. Peugeot gave the 306 many updates and aesthetic changes to keep up the competition but it was replaced by the 307 in 2001. Cabriolet and estate versions continued until 2002...
.
Ryton began assembling its last Peugeot, the 206
Peugeot 206
The Peugeot 206 is a supermini car, manufactured by the French automaker Peugeot from 1998 to 2010.Even though the 206 has finished production in most markets as of 2010, in Europe since 2009, it is available the 206+, with a back and especially a front design that resembles the Peugeot 207.-The...
, in 1998. At the height of the car's success, the plant was working at capacity to satisfy demand. Despite this however, Ryton's importance in PSA's overall strategy was always marginal at best — merely being an assembly operation with limited production capacity compared to PSA's main factories in France and Spain. The writing was on the wall for Ryton when Peugeot announced that the new 207
Peugeot 207
The Peugeot 207 is a small family car produced by the French automaker Peugeot and unveiled in January 2006.-Launch:The 207 was launched in France, Spain and Italy during April 2006 and later on in other European, Israeli and Arabic markets....
would not be assembled at the former Rootes plant, and in April 2006, after years of speculation surrounding Ryton's future, the PSA Group announced that residual 206 production would move to Eastern Europe.
Production at the plant ceased in December 2006. It marked the end of nearly 60 years of car manufacturing at Ryton, and severed the motor industry's final remaining link with the Rootes Group. The plant closed on 8 January 2007 with the loss of some 2,300 jobs and has since been demolished.
End of the name
The last appearance of the name Rootes was at a garage, still extant in MaidstoneMaidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
, which bore the name. On 1 January 2007, in line with the other 40 dealerships within its business group, the name was changed from Rootes Maidstone, to become Robins & Day Maidstone. Robins & Day is wholly owned and operated by Peugeot UK as opposed to other Peugeot dealers that are operated like many car dealerships, on a franchise basis.
Rootes' contribution to Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
's history is commemorated by the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
in the naming of Rootes Hall, one of its largest Halls of Residence, on the main campus site on the outskirts of Coventry.