DAF Trucks: A popular Dutch manufacturer

December 12th, 2008 by Shenron

DAF Trucks is one of the leading truck manufacturers in the world. The company is now merged with the England based Leyland Motors and is traded as Leyland DAF.

DAF is a Dutch company, which manufactures trucks, buses and trailers. The company is headquartered in Eindhoven, Netherlands. They are a division of PACCAR and their main plant is also situated in Netherlands. Axle assemblies and Crew Cabs are also produced in another plant of the company located in Westerlo, Belgium.

The company was founded by Hubert “Hub” van Doome in 1928 and his co-founder cum investor was Huenges. The name of the company was changed to Van Doorne’s Aanhangwagen Fabriek in 1932, which later got abbreviated as DAF. In 1936, Heunges left the company and the reins of the company was passed to the hands of the Van Doome Brothers.

During the time of the Second World War, a big opportunity came to DAF, as there was a scarcity of luxury trucks. The company began the business of manufacturing trucks, buses and trailers in 1949 and saw its name changed to Van Doome’s Automobile Factory. DAF A30 was the first truck model launched by them.

DAF Trucks introduced their first truck model, which was the A30 in 1949. This model of DAF truck was upgraded in the later years. DAF Trucks introduced the 2000DO in an attempt to capture the prevailing international market, but it proved to be a failure. They introduced their next truck model, 2600, which was a success and was a record seller in most markets. DAF Trucks has also produced a torpedo front tractor.

DAF Trucks got their first title of being the International truck of the Year after the introduction of their successful ‘95 series’. This truck series from DAF had ample space inside with a powerful 16 ATI advanced turbo 12 liter engine and a high roof space cab variants.

In 1975, DAF decided to concentrate on the business of trucks, as they sold off their passenger car division to the Swedish Company, Volvo Cars. In one of the most important business ventures, DAF merged with the division of Leyland Trucks, which belonged to the Rover Group, in 1987. It was during this time when the company floated as DAF NV on the Dutch Stock Exchange. After its merge, the new company traded with the name of Leyland DAF in UK, while it used DAF elsewhere.

DAF Trucks introduced the Darkar Rally in 1980, which they won in 1982, 85 and 87. Following the success in the rally, the company introduced a twin engine truck that had a combined power output of more than 1000 hp. DAF Trucks also started entering in to the competition of the European Truck Series in 1996, which was not very successful, but they became the champion in 1999.

DAF Trucks have continued their stranglehold in the European Markets and are going to launch new and more advanced models in the coming future.

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Leyland Trucks: A Reputed British Truck Manufacturer Company

December 10th, 2008 by Shenron

Leyland Trucks is a British truck manufacturing company based in Lancashire. As a result of a sudden management buy-out, the company emerged from the huge bankruptcy of DAV NV. Leyland Trucks is currently a subsidiary of PACCAR, after it was acquired by the company. All the trucks that are being designed and manufactured at the plants of Leyland Trucks are marketed under the brand name of PACCAR’s DAF.

The origin of the Leyland Trucks lies in Leyland Motors Ltd after its subsequent merger with the nationalized conglomerate of British Leyland. Later, the truck manufacturing division of Leyland, also known as Leyland Motors, merged with the truck business of DAF and went on to be known as DAF NV. But, the new company later became insolvent after a few years and finally Leyland Trucks became an independent organization.

History

The company was formed initially as the Lancashire Steam Motor company in the year of 1896. It later underwent a change in name to Leyland Motors in 1907. An important merger took place with the British Motor Holdings in 1968, and a new company was formed with the name British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC). The new company was nationalized in 1975 and it became British Leyland (BL).

British Leyland later changed its name to the Rover Group in 1986. After merging with the DAF trucks, Leyland Trucks traded as Leyland DAF in the UK stock exchange, following the buyout created by the New Leyland Trucks Company Management in 1993. It was PACCAR of the United States of America, who acquired Leyland Trucks as its subsidiary company in 1998. In 2006, after Paccar took the decision of ceasing production, Leyland Trucks was forced to stop manufacture Foden Trucks.

Leyland Trucks released thus far

Leyland Trucks produced the Q-type 4 ton as their first truck in the 1920s, which was followed by the SQ2 7 ton and SWQ2 10 ton. The company manufactured the Beaver, Bison. Bull, Hippo, Buffalo, Steer and the Octopus 22 ton eight wheeler models of trucks in 1930s. They also introduced the Comet model in the 1950s followed by the Beaver, Leyland 90, FG, Steer and Comet in the 1960s. In 1970s, they came up with new truck models like the Clydesdale, Terrier and the Marathon.

Leyland Truck’s answer to the Ford cargo in the 1980s came in the form of Roadrunner, a non HGV 7.5 ton truck sector. This model was launched in 1984, and it utilised a six engine transmission system.

The Leyland Roadtrain was another model from Leyland Trucks that was launched in the period of 1980s and 1990s. This model incorporated a truck design that encompassed the “T45″ nomenclature. Leyland motors manufactured the Roadtrain as a max weight model, which had distance work in mind. This model from Leyland motors was available in both day and night sleeper cabbed form and also in high and low datum versions, which referred to the height of the cab.

Leyland Motors introduced the high roofed Roadtrain in the year of 1986, which was a long distance truck having a standing room inside. This model was very common in the UK in the 1980s and was also used by many fleets.

Although Leyland Trucks haven’t been one of the top performers, still they have got an impact in British Markets.

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