Lucas Industries
company
Lucas Industries plc, now known as Lucas Automotive, is one of the world’s oldest continuously trading automotive brands, tracing its origins to 1875 and the first patent issued to its founder, Joseph Lucas.
Based originally in Birmingham, the company grew over the years into a manufacturer and supplier of automotive industry and aerospace industry components to vehicle and aerospace manufacturers around the world.
Lucas continues to operate as a recognised brand for automotive aftermarket products manufactured and distributed by exclusive agreements with established international partners. Lucas products are available in most countries and there are manufacturing plants located in Europe, South America, Tunisia, China, and other locations.
History
Foundation
In the 1850s, Joseph Lucas, a jobless father of six, sold paraffin oil from a barrow around the streets of Hockley. In 1860, he went on to found the firm that would later become Lucas Industries. His 17-year-old son Harry joined the firm around 1872. At first the firm made general pressed metal merchandise, and later in 1875, they branched out into lamps for ships. Joseph Lucas & Son was based in Little King Street from 1882 and later Great King Street, Birmingham. The business of Joseph Lucas & Sons was incorporated into Joseph Lucas Ltd in 1897.
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Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q574425. VIAF identifies the subject as 159425967. The Library of Congress control number is n78027206. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1875, 1860, 1872 and 1882.
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This entry incorporates text from “Lucas Industries” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.