The Austin A30 was launched in 1951 as a small family car produced by Austin. It was produced from May 1952 to September 1956 and was a competitor to the Morris Minor. BY the time it was replaced 230,000 A30s had been produced.

At launch, the car cost £507 (equivalent to £15,793.36 in 2019) undercutting the Minor by £62. The 2-door version was launched in late 1953.

The body structure was designed by T.K. Garrett, who had been an aeronautical engineer before joining Austin. It was of fully stressed monocoque chassis-less construction which made it lighter and stiffer than most contemporary vehicles, the first Austin to be made in this way. Inside there were individual seats at the front and a bench at the rear covered in PVC with an option of leather facings on the seats. There was a single windscreen wiper, central combined stop/tail/numberplate lamp and a sun visor in front of the driver only. A passenger-side wiper and sun visor, and a heater were available as optional extras.

The A30 had a small rear window and trafficators instead of modern indicators, which popped out from the B pillar when operated by a knob mounted on the centre of the dashboard.