as one of only 5 car companies with a family member still with the company, (Porsche, Toyota, Peugeot, Ford, and Morgan are the only companies I know of... Bill Ford, Akio Toyoda, Ferdinand Piech and Robert Peugeot ) Charles Morgan was not the director of the company, he was strategy manager, and in 2011 the last two family members resigned. So now a family owned company is being run by a remuneration committee. Who knows, maybe the other family members that are majority shareholders have hired better managers. But isn't it a shame that of all the car companies that put the family name on the line by making cars and selling them worldwide, one of the very few still with family running the business has slipped out of that rare position of making the car with their name. Now Smiths and Andersons are running the Morgan Company. There is something depressing about that. Morgan is the oldest family owned, and only independant car company in England
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/car-manufacturers/morgan/10396147/Morgan-whats-going-on.html
as Andrew writes at the Telegraph:
“From rags to riches to rags in three generations,” is a British version of a Chinese saying that states a company, founded with vision and drive, gets conservative by the second generation and goes into decline by the third.
Charles Morgan, was dismissed on October 14 as an employee and director of holding company Morgan Technologies and then his identical positions at subsidiaries Morgan Motor Co, Morgan 3 Wheeler and Aero Racing.
Sochiro Honda, observed that in future there would be just half a dozen car companies worldwide: “...and Morgan”.
From Wikipedia:
The Morgan Motor Company is a family-owned company founded in 1910 by Henry Morgan, and was run by him until he died at age 77 in 1959.
HFS Morgan set up business to attended to the needs of the Edwardian motorists and became a dealer for Darracq, Wolseley, Siddeley and Rover cars in 1905
Peter Morgan, son of Henry, ran the company until a few years before his death in 2003. He was replaced as Chairman by Alan Garnett, a non family director, from 2003 to 2006. On his departure, a 4-man management team was set up consisting of Matthew Parkin, Tim Whitworth, Steve Morris and Charles Morgan, (Peter Morgan's son).
In 2010, Mr. Parkin left the Company and Charles Morgan was named Managing Director. In October 2013, Mr. Morgan was removed.
The shareholders also appointed the first Chairman of the Board since 2006 in naming Andrew Duncan, a local solicitor and friend of the Late Peter Morgan.
Since 2011, the Morgan Motor Company and its related companies, (Aero Racing Limited and Morgan 3 Wheeler Ltd) have been wholly owned divisions of Morgan Technologies, a company incorporated in late 2010. Morgan is based in Malvern Link, an area of Malvern, Worcestershire and employs 163 people.
Morgan produced 640 cars in 2007.
(The Morgan Motor Company website states 177 employees and 1300 cars a year made http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/mmc/aboutus.html)
All the cars are assembled by hand. The waiting list for a car is approximately one to two years, although it has been as high as ten years in the past.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Motor_Company
For part of the 1950s and 1960s, the USA provided the company with its largest market worldwide, taking up to 85% of all production. This ended with the first wave of US safety and emission regulations in 1971.
In 2005, its right to import its classic models ceased when supplies of its necessary airbag were exhausted and no replacement was developed.
In May 2012. Charles Morgan's Superdry edition Morgan 3 Wheeler was prepared it for its first major American trial. This vehicle was driven across the States, from New York to Los Angeles by Charles Morgan and his wife,covering 3000 miles, in the Gumball 3000 Rally. At the end of the 7 day drive, the Morgan 3 Wheeler was awarded the "Spirit of Gumball" prize.
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