Motor Components are a vital part of a motor industry and British companies were there among the leaders with Lucas and Dunlop neck and neck with Bosch and Michelin. There was also the battery manufacturer Chloride, which had prepared Michael Edwards for his task in breaking up British Leyland, GKN which produced the universal joint transmission for the Mini and carburettor manufactures Solex and Zenith, and of course many others.
Lucas stands out as a company which both invented and developed; they were exceptional at manufacturing, often achieving better results than the company from which they had taken a licence to manufacture. Dunlop were also great technical innovators but were perhaps commercially too conservative. Both Lucas and Dunlop fell into the hands of predators.
The image of the Lucas Headquarters in 1953 with thanks to the British Motor museum.
British Manufacturing History 