   the rover group plc was the name given in 1986 to the british state-owned from 1975hansard: "rover group (privatisation)" debate, 29 mar 1988 vehicle manufacturer bl (formerly british leyland). it initially included the austin rover group car business (comprising the austin, rover, mini and mg marques), land rover group, freight rover vans and leyland trucks. the rover group was owned by british aerospace (bae) from 1988 to 1994, when bae sold the remaining car business to the german company bmw. the group was further broken up in 2000, when ford acquired the land rover division, with the rover and mg marques continuing with the much smaller mg rover group until 2005. ownership of the original rover group marques is currently split between bmw (germany), saic (china), and tata motors (india). ==history== the rover group plc was formed by renaming bl plc in 1986, soon after the appointment by margaret thatcher of canadian graham day to the position of chairman and managing director of bl. after divesting of its commercial vehicle and bus manufacturing divisions the company then consisted of the car manufacturing arm austin rover group and the land rover group. this group was privatised in 1988 by the sale of the company 
1986_establishments_in_the_United_Kingdom Companies_formerly_listed_on_the_London_Stock_Exchange Defunct_motor_vehicle_manufacturers_of_the_United_Kingdom Former_nationalised_industries_of_the_United_Kingdom Manufacturing_companies_established_in_1986 Rover