British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partly nationalised in 1975, when the UK government created a holding company called British Leyland, later renamed BL in 1978. It incorporated much of the British-owned motor vehicle industry, which in 1968 had a 40 percent share of the UK car market, with its history going back to 1895.
Leyland Motors Limited was a British vehicle manufacturer of lorries, buses and trolleybuses. The company diversified into car manufacturing with its acquisitions of Triumph and Rover in 1960 and 1967, respectively. It gave its name to the British Leyland Motor Corporation, formed when it merged with British Motor Holdings in 1968, to become British Leyland after being nationalised. British Leyland later changed its name to simply BL, then in 1986 to Rover Group.
The Mercedes-Benz O305 was a single deck, double deck and articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz in Mannheim, West Germany from 1969 until 1987. It was built as either a complete bus or a bus chassis and was the Mercedes-Benz adaptation of the unified German VöV-Standard-Bus design, that was produced by many different bus manufacturers including Büssing, Magirus-Deutz, MAN, Ikarus, Gräf/Steyr, Heuliez, Renault, and Pegaso. The O305 was designed for use as a single-decker bus, however it was later redesigned to accommodate double-decker bodies.
The Dennis Dominator was Dennis's first rear-engined double-decker bus chassis, it was launched in 1977.
Optare is an English bus manufacturer based in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of Indian company Ashok Leyland.
Albion Motors was a Scottish automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer.
The Leyland Olympian was a 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1980 and 1993. It was the last Leyland bus model in production.
The Volvo B58 was a mid-engined single-decker bus, double-decker bus, single-decker articulated bus and single-decker coach chassis manufactured by Volvo in Sweden from 1966 until early 1982. It was succeeded by the B10M.
The Leyland Atlantean is a predominantly double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland Motors between 1958 and 1986. Only 17 Atlantean chassis were bodied as single deck from new.
The Leyland National is an integrally-constructed British step-floor single-decker bus manufactured in large quantities between 1972 and 1985. It was developed as a joint project between two UK nationalised industries – the National Bus Company and British Leyland. Buses were constructed at a specially built factory at the Lillyhall Industrial Estate, Workington. Styling was carried out by the Italian vehicle stylist Giovanni Michelotti, previously commissioned by both Triumph and Scammell lorries.
The Leyland Leopard was a mid-engined single-decker bus and single-decker coach chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1959 and 1982.
The Leyland Lynx was a stepped-entrance single-decker bus manufactured by Leyland in Workington, England between 1986 and 1992. After the takeover by Volvo, it was succeeded by the Volvo B10B.
The Daimler Fleetline is a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis which was built between 1960 and 1983.
The Dennis Domino was a step-entrance midibus chassis manufactured by Dennis in Guildford, England in 1984 and 1985. It was in essence, a scaled down single-decker version of the Dennis Dominator. Developed for intensive urban work, the Domino was fitted with Perkins T6.354.4 turbocharged engine, Maxwell automatic transmission, front radiator, full air suspension and power steering. It can be regarded as a predecessor of the successful Dennis Dart.
Bendy buses were rarely used in the United Kingdom compared to other countries, until the turn of the millennium. This was due to the UK preference for the quintessential double-decker bus for use on high capacity routes. As of June 2006, there were over 500 articulated buses in the UK, although they are still heavily outnumbered by double deckers. The majority of this fleet was used in London, although these buses would be withdrawn by end of 2011.
Buses play a major role in the public transport of the United Kingdom, as well as seeing extensive private use. While rail transport has increased over the past twenty years due to road congestion, the same does not apply to buses, which have generally been used less, apart from in London where their use has increased significantly. Bus transport is heavily subsidised, with subsidy accounting for around 45 per cent of operator revenue, especially in London.
Danish Automobile Building (DAB) was a Danish bus manufacturer based in Silkeborg. It was in existence from 1912 until 2002.
The Leyland Panther was a rear-engined single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland between the years 1964 and 1972. A version with a smaller engine was released as the Leyland Panther Cub.
The Leyland Royal Tiger PSU was an underfloor-engined bus and coach chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1950 and 1954.
The Leyland B21 was a bus chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1979 and 1985. The chassis was as used by the Leyland National and was designed for overseas markets. Its biggest market was Australia.
