Car Plant Plans Under Review

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31590, 30 January 1968, Page 9

Car Plant Plans Under Review

•'The Press'* Special Service AUCKLAND, January 29. Plans for the building of a major assambly plant at Henderson to produce the full range of Morris and Austin cars will be reviewed because of the merger of British Motor Holdings and Leyland Motors.

As yet, no indications suggest that the undertaking will not proceed. Conceivably the merger could result in the plant being developed to produce an even wider range. However, officials of the group in London say it is still too early to provide definite information on how its interests in New Zealand will be affected. The chief of the combine. Sir Donald Stokes, will visit New Zealand early in March during a tour of all the group’s overseas branches. He will be looking primarily to see what economies and greater efficiency can be achieved by integrating

--B.M.H. and Leyland activities. , Until he reports, the future ’of the Henderson plant—which has been planned by r the British Motor Corpora- • tion, the biggest component i of the B.M.H. group—cannot , be assessed. The s4oom combine is exr pected to produce a world - total of almost a million i vehicles next year. Apart from Morris and , Austin, its range, the largest t outside the United States, ini eludes Riley, Wolseley, M.G., ! Austin-Healey sports, Jaguar, Daimler, Triumph, Rover, - Leyland, Land Rover and a > variety of lesser-known types, ; including a wide selection of i commercial vehicles.