Originally known as Albion Motor Car Company Ltd, the company was founded in 1899 by Thomas Blackwood Murray and Norman Osborne Fulton (both of whom had previously been involved in Arrol-Johnston). Murray's father, John Lamb Murray mortgaged the Heavyside estate in Biggar, South Lanarkshire, to provide the initial capital. They were joined a couple of years later by John F Henderson who provided additional capital. The factory was originally on the first floor of a building in Finnieston Street, Glasgow and had only seven employees. In 1903 the company moved to new premises in Scotstoun.

Albion was established in 1899 in Glasgow, the second city of the Empire, already renowned worldwide for its engineering excellence. Albion's motto "Sure As The Sunrise" was adapted into the logo which featured on the radiator and badges of their models for many years and helped to establish their identity wherever they operated throughout the world. In 1900 the company built its first motor car, a rustic-looking dogcart made of varnished wood, powered by a flat-twin 8hp engine with gear-change by "Patent Combination Clutches" and solid tyres.

In 1903 Albion introduced a 3115 cc 16 hp vertical-twin, followed in 1906 by a 24 hp four. One of the specialities the company offered was solid-tyred shooting-brakes. The last private Albions were powered by a 15 hp monobloc four of 2492 cc.
Passenger car production ceased in 1915 but in 1920 the company announced that estate cars were available again based on a small bus chassis, it is not known if any were actually made.
Although the manufacture of motor cars was the main industry in the first ten years of its existence, it was decided in 1909 to concentrate on the production of commercial vehicles. During World War I they built for the War Office large quantities of 3 ton trucks powered by a 32 hp engine using chain drive to the rear wheels. After the war many of these were converted for use as charabancs.
Trucks and buses (single and double deckers) were manufactured in the Scotstoun works until 1980 (1972 for complete vehicles). The buses were exported to Asia, East Africa, Australia, India and South Africa. Almost all Albion buses were given names beginning with "V", these models being the Victor, Valiant, Viking, Valkyrie, and Venturer.
In April 1931, the Albion Motor Car Company Ltd was renamed Albion Motors Limited with its vehicles featuring the sunrise badge. In 1951, Albion was purchased by Leyland Motors, which then became part of the British Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968. Production of the Chieftain, Clydesdale and Reiver trucks and of the Viking bus models continued. In 1969, the company took over the neighbouring Coventry Ordnance Works on South Street, which it used for truck component manufacture. British Leyland eliminated the Albion name in 1972 with the products continuing to be built at the same factory under the Leyland brand. In 1980, vehicle production at the former Albion factory ceased, moving to the soon-to-close British Leyland plant at Bathgate, however component manufacturing continued.
British Leyland became Rover Group between 1986 and 1997 the component manufacturing plant became part of Leyland DAF, the newly formed British arm of the Anglo-Dutch company DAF NV, formed by the merger of Rover Group's Leyland Trucks division and the Dutch DAF Trucks company.
Following the collapse of DAF in 1993, Leyland DAF went into receivership, and the truck components business in Scotstoun was subject to a management buyout and transferred to a newly created company called Albion Automotive. In 1998, Albion Automotive was acquired by American Axle & Manufacturing Company of Detroit. The new company manufactures axles, driveline systems, chassis systems, crankshafts and chassis components.

Mark Knopfler's song, "Border Reiver", the first cut on his 2009 release, "Get Lucky", contains direct references "My Scotstoun lassie", "She's an Albion" and "Sure as the Sunrise".

Parent company American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) decided it could not continue due to "long-term business with its largest customer not being extended" and closed the plant on 4th October 2024.