The Metro is a supermini car, later a city car, that was produced from 1980 to 1998, first by British Leyland (BL) and later by its successor the Rover Group. The Metro was intended to complement and eventually replace the original Mini. It was launched as the Austin Mini Metro sold under the Austin badge, and in 1982, sportier MG versions were made available. From 1987, the car was sold simply as the "Metro" after the cessation of the Austin brand. In 1990, the Metro was redesigned and sported the Rover brand name, sold as the Rover 100 abroad, which would also replace the Metro nameplate in Britain from 1995 onwards.
The Metro quickly proved popular and became Britain's best-selling car for some time. There was also a van version, sold under the Morris badge and later as the Metrovan. Although the R3-generation Rover 200 introduced in 1995 (and smaller than previous 200 models) had originally been designed as a replacement for the Metro, it was not marketed as such after its launch. The Metro (now known as Rover 100) finally ceased production on 23 December 1997, being outlived by three years by the original Mini that it was meant to replace. 2,078,218 Metros of all types were built.
