Inexorable success, as British motorists fall in love with the Austin Seven
At the war’s end, Herbert Austin was knighted, and factory resources could once again be harnessed solely towards producing stylish motorcars and trucks. After a stuttering period as the British Motorcar Industry struggled to find its feet (with Austin’s very survival at one point resting upon the mere flip of a coin!), Austin grew from strength to strength in the decades to come, doing its bit in World War Two, and becoming a household name, particularly after the introduction of the celebrated Austin Seven, for which supply could barely keep up with demand.
The workforce grew, and the premises with it, expansion continuing even after Lord Austin’s death in 1941, aged 74.
