Leyland accelerated in great sales race
3 January 1975
DAILY EXPRESS
By David Benson
British Leyland launch an "off the shelf" assault on the home car market today in an attempt to regain sales lost during 1974 to foreign cars. Managing director of the firm's Austin Morris division.
Mr Keith Hopkins, said yesterday: "People have not been prepared to wait two or three months for a British car when they could get a foreign car immediately."
He added: "Now we are striving to meet foreign producers on equal terms ."
To the customer this will mean immediate or almost immediate delivery. To this end Austin Morris have installed a "hot line" telephone linked with the national locator system to help find the right car in the fastest time wherever it may be in the country. Mr Hopkins said the British market expanded during the last two years from around 1 million to 1,600,000 sales "almost overnight."
Leyland Industries Belgium announced yesterday it had closed its South Malines car assembly plant opened in 1960 Maximum capacity was 100 vehicles a day, but production had fallen to 25 a day.
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