@ brucelucenta
Bruce
I am going to be a bit lazy here, I wrote extensively about this on another thread so I will re-produce what I wrote there:
The first automatic really to be aimed to the general British public was the English Electric Liberator (based on WH Spacemates) in 1959. By then Bendix, who had been offering automatics since 1950 or so also had an automatic at around the same price but these were around 35% more expensive than a twin tub, which for the most part, were priced between £80 (Servis Supertwin & Hoovematic at around £85) & £90 (Hotpoint Supermatic) which was a substantial price differential.
And twin tubs were heavily promoted, particularly by Hoover (the much simpler construction of the HM must have made them very healthy profits indeed compared to other manufacturers) but also by soap powder manufacturers as twin tubs were almost exclusively used in their adverts until the 1970s.
The Keymatic arrived in 1961 with the Hotpoint and Servis automatics (both top loaders) in around late 1962 early 1963. As the 1960s progressed more machines came and went and the prices became relatively cheaper although still more expensive than a twin tub. Additional plumbing for an automatic was also a factor (much more of a big deal than it is today) to push up the price and also a resistance factor in terms of the disruption it promised of "having men in".
So machines were usually supplied with wheels although it would be a hefty woman who would describe them as readily portable to give the impression they could be used without permanent plumbing. Also they came in a variety of sizes and most needed access to the top in one form or another meaning that they would cut into the already limited counter space in the typically small British kitchen.
The first washer to really counter this in terms of price was the Hoover Automatic around 1968, a down market version of the (now horizontal drum) Keymatic which was around the same price as a TOL twin tub.
But it was not until around 1972 or so that the market really began to change with the balance of sales swinging towards the automatic - around this time Hoover, Hotpoint and Servis introduced (front loading) models which would easily fit under a counter and did not require to be moved. They also all produced matching tumble dryers which could be stacked - previously English Electric was the only manufacturer to do so, as indeed they had from 1960 providing a complete solution to the laundry "problem". Also these machines were smaller than previously fitting into a 2ft x 2ft foot print - and indeed the Servis was rather smaller than this - it was amazing how much they managed to cram into the smaller cabinet.
And of course the Italian manufactured machines - Indesit with their low priced models (cheaper than top end twin tubs) and to an extent Bendix (which has been manufactured for some years by Philco in Italy) and very soon Zanussi were starting to make their presence felt.
Along with this there were changes in the market as women's expectations increased - where in 1950 a hand wringer washer was a god send (and it was) the twin tub (around 10 years later) and an automatic (around 10 years after that) were natural step ups. By this time also, the market for "second buy" machines was also developing as twin tubs naturally came to the end of their life. And more women of course were going out to work so again the automatic was the natural choice to cut the domestic work load - "wash day - just forget it" - a slogan from 10 years previously.
But note that the popular machines were almost exclusively front loading automatics - by 1970 the only conventional top loader was the Hotpoint, which pretty much satisfied the, now, niche market for such a machine as it continued to do so for around another 25 years as shown by the machines at the start of the thread. There were also top loading H Axis machines, but these catered for a rather different niche - both of these markets exist to this day and are still catered for.
There are a couple of other factors to throw into the mix:
1. It seems the domestic washer market (and in truth most domestic appliances) was more advanced in the US than in the UK so by the 1930s wringer washers, and to an extent, twin tubs were far more common in the US than UK.
It seems to me that, when making a choice between the two major labour saving appliances of the time the vacuum cleaner won out over the washing machine. Partly due to there not being a high volume manufacturer in the UK in the 1930s (that is not to say they were not made, just not in high volumes) and partly due to the extensive marketing of particularly Hoover and Electrolux - so the vacuum cleaner won out.
It may also be that laundry (typically once a week) was considered less of a chore than the requirements of cleaning a whole house on a daily, or at least several times a week. This also when it was not unusual to send washing out to laundries or even employ someone to come in and do it for you. And, for the less well off there were municipal, communal facilities available. And what washing machines there were cost considerably more than a vacuum.
The situation was turned on its head in 1948 when Hoover brought out their wringer washer, cheap to buy (cheaper to manufacture!) or at least at a price not much more than a good vacuum, easy to use and, most importantly, small enough to easily fit in the typically small (and I cannot emphasise this too much) British kitchen. This lead to a developing wringer washer market in the 1950s - with both large and compact machines. Ten years later they did the same again with the Hoovermatic twin tub, which kick started a whole new market which their main competitors picked up on as it was basically mature technology for them in terms of components. The move to automatics was much more gradual taking about 15 years in total - when twin tubs came out wringer washers were to all intents and purposes dead in the water.
2. I understand that the first automatic in the US was the Bendix which they wrapped up tight in patents so that anyone wanting to produce something similar had to pay them a royalty for each unit. So most manufacturers adapted the technology they were familiar with - wringer washers - to produce their own version of an automatic washer. This had the added benefit that it was a washing system that North American were well accustomed to after many years of seeing wringer washers - this was not the case in the UK where there was no established, or should I say, deeply grounded technology. I think there may well be an argument that if Bendix had not held on so tight to the technology the market penetration of the front loader would have been much higher - as it was it became a niche market, just like the top loader did in the UK. I will also add that larger American homes, often with basements (unusual here) could accommodate the larger machines much more easily without compromising counter space in the kitchen - considered the logical place for them here. I am firmly of the belief that this one thing was the major factor in the UK at least although front loaders are the largely the norm all over Europe although the French market in particular, seems to have a much higher penetration of H Axis top loaders (same washing principle as front loader, the machines are much narrower than a regular front loader) than most other regions where they are much more of a niche product - or at least this is what I have come to understand.
Gosh, that was a long answer to a short question LOL
Al
