LDV Group
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 as Leyland DAF Vans from Leyland DAF in receivership |
| Headquarters | Washwood Heath, Birmingham, West Midlands, England |
| Key people | Martin Leach |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Products | Automobiles |
| Employees | 2,000 |
| Parent | GAZ |
| Website | www.ldv.com |
LDV Group Limited (formerly Leyland DAF Vans), is a British van manufacturer, based in the Ward End area of Birmingham, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Russian GAZ group.
Due to the severe worldwide recession, production was halted at LDV's Birmingham factory in December 2008.
On 29 April 2009 LDV Group Limited applied to go into administration.
On Tuesday, 5 May 2009, it was announced that the UK government was to make a temporary loan of £5m to the Malaysian company Weststar in aid of its bid to take over LDV.
On Tuesday, 2 June 2009, Weststar announced it was not able to raise finance for its take-over bid, placing LDV back into administration on 8 June 2009.
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[edit] The vehicles
LDV produce a range of panel vans, pick-ups and minibuses, all available with various modifications and specifications. LDV's main customers are large British corporations, such as the Royal Mail, National Grid plc and many other utility companies, which have demonstrated a preference for British-built vehicles.[citation needed]
[edit] Current range
The current range of vans, the Maxus, was introduced in 2005. The Maxus was originally planned as a joint venture with Daewoo of South Korea. Daewoo however, went into receivership in 2000 before the project came to fruition. LDV subsequently acquired the exclusive rights to the van from General Motors, who had taken over Daewoo, and purchased the existing tooling and shipped it all to Birmingham from the Daewoo plant in Poland where the van was originally intended to be built.[1]
The Maxus is fitted with direct injection, common rail, diesel engines supplied by VM Motori.[2]
There are plans for 2009, to start assembly of the Maxus at the GAZ Nizhny Novgorod plant in Russia with 50,000 as an initial volume. (http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/news/05-11-07_4)[3][4]
Recently, there have been reports that the Maxus van will be exported and sold in Australia as the GAZ Maxus, following its release in the UK.
[edit] Legacy vehicles
Up until early 2006, LDV produced the Convoy and Pilot, derived from the venerable British Leyland Sherpa, and developed considerably throughout the 1970s–90s, and which are a common sight in the UK.
Between 1996 and 2001 LDV sold the Cub, a badge engineered Nissan Vanette.
[edit] Concept vehicle
[edit] History
LDV was formed in 1993 as Leyland DAF Vans Limited following a management buy-out of DAF NV's Leyland DAF van manufacturing division, following the bankruptcy of the Dutch company. Later the name was officially changed to LDV Limited.
Prior to its merger with Leyland Trucks and DAF Trucks in 1987 it was part of the British Leyland / Rover Group empire and was latterly the Freight Rover arm of the Land Rover Group division.
In December 2005, after going into administration, LDV was bought by group Sun Capital/Sun European Partners and was subject to a financial restructuring.[5] What Van reported LDVs commitment to its existing customers, including an assurance from their marketing director that their production target of 1000 vans per month would put them well above break-even point.[6]
The Russian GAZ Group acquired LDV on 31 July 2006, and also established a new company, GAZ International, based in the UK, to focus on the automotive industry.[3] The BBC reported that a GAZ spokesperson said that the company had appointed former Ford of Europe executive Martin Leach and former A.T. Kearney executive Steve Young to run the business, and that it planned to expand production at LDV's Birmingham plant by adding new product lines and entering new markets in Europe and elsewhere.[5]
[edit] Sponsorship
- LDV sponsored Aston Villa Football Club from 1998 to 2000.
- LDV also sponsored the Football League Trophy until 2006
[edit] Models
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Van maker plans 1,000 new jobs". BBC. 2003-08-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3165425.stm. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
- ^ "Current Vehicles". VM Motori. http://www.vmmotori.it/en/01/01/index.jsp.
- ^ a b "GAZ International". LDV. http://www.ldv.com/gb/aboutgaz.asp.
- ^ "Russia: GAZ to launch LDV brand with Maxus van; Russian built Maxus is planned for 2009 with a volume of 50,000 units (http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/news/05-11-07_4)". AutomotiveWorld. 2007-08-13. http://www.automotiveworld.com/WCV/content.asp?contentid=62748. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
- ^ a b "Russian company buys UK vanmaker". BBC. 2006-07-31. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5230806.stm. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
- ^ "LDV reassures customers over warranty". What Van. 2006-03-15. http://www.van-guard.co.uk/news/archives/00000089.php.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: LDV vehicles |
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