in 1952 austin merged with its biggest rival morris (founded by william morris, afterwards lord nuffield), with austin being the lead partner. this company was known as the british motor corporation (bmc). following the merger with morris, the model line up for austin changed considerably. the most notable car to come from this era was the austin mini, this was also sold as a morris mini and was made up until 2000 (though not as an austin after 1987). austin enjoyed a favourable market share during the 1950s and 1960s.