I've done a bit more digging and have come up with this:
"This is not a model one chooses for its accuracy, but rather for its glorious period charm. It is a tinplate model, approximately 11cm long. Discounting the wheels and axles and the crude seats inside, on the basic version there are three tinplate components tabbed together: the base, which also forms the bumpers and grille; the main body of the car; and the window surrounds and roof (with a pressed-in indentation to simulate a sunroof).
The model was clearly a product of post-war shortages as careful inspection of the interiors often reveals they are made from the likes of Oxo or Horlicks tins. Mine has ‘with’ written inside the ‘body’ section and ‘ELL’, no doubt indicating the use of a Shell oilcan on the roof lining.
The nature of the model, with its tabbed tinplate construction, means it would be virtually impossible to produce an accurate replica of the real car. The base, unusually for this era, incorporates a simulated engine block, driveshaft and differential and arguably this is the most accurately modelled aspect of the car.
The model came in two versions: a basic example in single colours and a two-tone friction drive. The single colours were red, blue and green with the two-tone versions in two of those three colours. There is one variation of the model: some have numberplates and some do not.
The numberplates are the only clue we have to the manufacturer of the car. The Vauxhall’s is IXL 1952. It is presumed that IXL is the manufacturer’s name and 1952 the year the model was introduced.
The most common IXL model is its Sunbeam-Talbot and one guesses this is because it was the first model to come out so was in production longer. Nobody seems to know where the IXL company was based, but its models were sold in Woolworths’ stores."
(Source here)
Other information can be found
here and
here.
