Battery Manufacturing Association

Battery Manufacturing Association (BMA) was a small British vehicle company based in Hove, England. Its best-known product was the B.M.A. Hazelcar, a compact electric roadster introduced in 1952 during the postwar British microcar boom. The company’s work connected two strands of light-vehicle development: the practical use of battery-electric propulsion and the search for inexpensive, compact personal transport for crowded urban roads. The Hazelcar was designed as a small open roadster with an aluminium body. Its electric drive used a 1.5-horsepower motor supplied by nine six-volt batteries. The vehicle was reported to have a top speed of approximately 20 mph (32 km/h) and a potential range of up to 60 miles (97 km), figures that were notable for a very small early-1950s electric vehicle. Its asking price of £535, however, was high enough to restrict demand, particularly when compared with more conventional small cars and other inexpensive microcars available in Britain. Production ended in 1954, after only a small number of vehicles had been completed. The company is associated with approximately 25 vehicles in total, including some electric vans. This limited output indicates that BMA operated more like a specialist or low-volume manufacturer than a mass-market automotive business. The surviving historical record does not establish a substantial dealer network, major export activity, or a long-running corporate organization. Instead, the company is chiefly remembered for the Hazelcar and for its brief participation in Britain's early electric-vehicle and microcar experiments. The Hazelcar's background began in 1949, when brothers Eric and Roy Hazeldine established a garage business at Telscombe Cliffs and Rottingdean in Sussex. They initially developed a very small petrol-powered vehicle concept intended to achieve a 50 mph top speed and fuel economy of 50 miles per imperial gallon. Its transverse four-cylinder engine, end-on gearbox, rear-mounted powertrain, and small wheels anticipated some of the packaging ideas later associated with the Mini. A petrol version of this design is reported to be displayed at the Bentley Motor Museum in Sussex. The Hazeldines subsequently joined forces with BMA, leading to the electric Hazelcar project. BMA's historical importance is therefore disproportionate to its commercial scale. The Hazelcar illustrates both the technical promise and the economic obstacles facing early electric cars: a relatively useful stated range and simple mechanical layout, but low performance, heavy battery dependence, limited production capacity, and a price that constrained adoption. The company is now defunct, and the available reference material does not document a successor, acquisition, public listing, or continuing product line.

Battery Manufacturing Association was a short-lived British specialist vehicle company located in Hove. It operated during the postwar period when British manufacturers and independent engineers explored microcars as a response to fuel costs, limited materials, urban congestion, and the purchasing constraints of many private motorists. Within that setting, BMA became associated with one of Britain's early small electric vehicles, the B.M.A. Hazelcar. The Hazelcar's design lineage can be traced to the work of Eric and Roy Hazeldine. In 1949, the brothers established a garage business in the Sussex area at Telscombe Cliffs and Rottingdean. Their initial concept was a very small petrol car intended to combine a claimed 50 mph performance with fuel economy of 50 miles per gallon. The design used a transverse four-cylinder engine and an end-on gearbox, with the power unit mounted at the rear and the vehicle riding on small wheels. These packaging choices gave the project an early connection to the compact engineering principles later made famous by the Mini, although the Hazelcar was a separate and much smaller undertaking. The Hazeldines later joined forces with Battery Manufacturing Association. The resulting B.M.A. Hazelcar was developed as an electric roadster rather than simply as a petrol microcar. Its aluminium body helped keep the vehicle light, while a 1.5-horsepower electric motor drew power from nine six-volt batteries. The published performance figures were modest: a maximum speed of about 20 mph and a range of up to 60 miles. For short-distance urban use, that range could be practical, but the low speed limited the vehicle's usefulness on faster roads and the battery system added weight, cost, and charging constraints. BMA entered the microcar market in 1952. The Hazelcar's price was reported as £535, a level that made it difficult to attract a broad customer base. The combination of specialist construction, limited performance, and expensive battery equipment reduced its competitiveness against conventional small cars and other postwar economy vehicles. BMA therefore remained a low-volume producer rather than developing into a large-scale automobile company. The company made approximately 25 vehicles, a total that included some electric vans. The vans suggest that BMA considered more than one application for its electric technology, particularly short-range commercial transport, but the surviving reference record does not provide detailed model names, production totals by variant, or customer information. Production of the Hazelcar ended in 1954. No reliable information in the supplied sources identifies a later successor company, a major acquisition, a public listing, or a continuing BMA business. BMA's significance lies in its early attempt to commercialize a battery-electric road vehicle in Britain. The Hazelcar demonstrated that a lightweight electric vehicle could offer a useful stated local range with a simple drivetrain, but it also exposed the barriers that have repeatedly affected electric-vehicle adoption: battery cost and mass, restricted speed, limited manufacturing scale, and a purchase price that weakened the value proposition. Today, the company is principally remembered through historical accounts of British microcars and early electric vehicles.

• 1954

  Hazelcar production ends

  [1]Battery Manufacturing Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Production ended after a short run; total output is estimated at approximately 25 vehicles, including electric vans.

• 1952

  B.M.A. Hazelcar introduced

  [1]Battery Manufacturing Associationen.wikipedia.org

  BMA entered the microcar market with the battery-electric Hazelcar roadster, featuring an aluminium body and a nine-battery electrical system.

• 1949

  Hazeldine brothers establish a garage business

  [1]Battery Manufacturing Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Eric and Roy Hazeldine established a garage business at Telscombe Cliffs and Rottingdean in Sussex and began developing a compact vehicle concept.

Low-volume British manufacturer of compact, battery-electric vehicles for lightweight personal and commercial transport.

• Electric microcar · 1952

  B.M.A. Hazelcar

  The B.M.A. Hazelcar was a small electric roadster with an aluminium body, introduced in 1952. It used a 1.5-horsepower electric motor supplied by nine six-volt batteries. Its reported top speed was approximately 20 mph, while its maximum stated range was up to 60 miles. The vehicle's low speed and relatively high price of £535 limited its commercial appeal, and production ended in 1954. It is the principal product associated with Battery Manufacturing Association.

• Light electric commercial vehicle

  BMA electric vans

  Battery Manufacturing Association is reported to have built some electric vans alongside its Hazelcar production. Available reference material confirms their existence but does not establish model names, specifications, production quantities, or customer applications. They appear to have formed a small part of the company's limited overall vehicle output.

• 1952

  Launch of the B.M.A. HazelcarProduct launch

  Background

  BMA entered the postwar British microcar market after the Hazeldine brothers' earlier work on a compact petrol vehicle concept.

  Action taken

  The company introduced an aluminium-bodied electric roadster using a 1.5-horsepower motor and nine six-volt batteries.

  Aftermath

  The vehicle's limited performance and £535 price constrained demand. Production ended in 1954 after a small run.

  Source

• 1954

  Production of the B.M.A. Hazelcar ends[1]Battery Manufacturing Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Hazelcar production concluded after a short run and an estimated total company output of approximately 25 vehicles, including some electric vans.

• 1952

  Battery Manufacturing Association enters the microcar market with the B.M.A. Hazelcar[1]Battery Manufacturing Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  BMA introduced its small electric Hazelcar roadster, powered by a 1.5-horsepower motor and nine six-volt batteries.

1. 1Battery Manufacturing Associationen.wikipedia.org