AWD Trucks was a British truck manufacturer that produced

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

trucks from 1987 to 1992, until it was merged with

Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group Marshall Group, formerly Marshall of Cambridge and Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, is a British company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Subsidiaries include Marshall Aerospace, an aircraft maintenance, modification, and desig ...

. The last truck of the company was discontinued in 1998, and so the Bedford name became entirely defunct at that time.

History

In 1986,

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

decided to sell their

heavy-duty truck division to David J.B. Brown, who was the founder of Artix Limited, while they re-formed the Bedford light truck division into

IBC Vehicles IBC Vehicles Limited is an English automotive manufacturing company based in Luton, Bedfordshire and since 2021 a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational corporation Stellantis. Its principal operation is an assembly plant located in Luto ...

. Brown restarted production of the heavy-duty trucks ( Bedford TJ,

Bedford TK The Bedford TK was a truck manufactured by Bedford. Launched in 1960 to replace the Bedford S type, the TK was scheduled to be replaced by the Bedford TL in 1981, but manufacturing of the TK continued as a cheaper alternative. A military 4x4 ...

Bedford MK The Bedford TK was a truck manufactured by Bedford. Launched in 1960 to replace the Bedford S type, the TK was scheduled to be replaced by the Bedford TL in 1981, but manufacturing of the TK continued as a cheaper alternative. A military 4x4 v ...

, and Bedford TL) under the ''AWD Trucks'' name in 1987, since the ''Bedford'' name was owned by

, but was only used in light vans such as the

Bedford Midi Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

and

Bedford Rascal The is a kei truck produced by the Japanese automaker Suzuki. The microvan version was originally called the Carry van until 1982 when the passenger van versions were renamed as the . In Japan, the Carry and Every are ''kei cars'' but the Suzuk ...

, both of which were designs of

Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...

and Isuzu. The now-called AWD Trucks were mostly made for the export market, on which they were very popular, but in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, they were only bought by the

construction industry Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and come ...

and the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

.> At that time Brown opened a new firm called ''Multidrive Vehicles'' that built 8x6 versions of the AWD TK and AWD TL, mostly for the military and special services. In 1992 the AWD brand was merged with

and the only truck that was kept in production was the very outdated Bedford TJ (which was now called AWD TJ), because it was a very good export seller, especially in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, but nevertheless, the production of the truck ended in 1998, and that was the end of the ''Bedford'' name. By that time the AWD company had achieved £3 billion of exports and gained 4 Queen's Awards to Industry, with an annual turnover of £400 million.> In 1996 David J.B. Brown sold the Multidrive Vehicles company to

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

. Brown then became a design consultant for the Cat 7 Series ADT. The Bedford trucks that were built by Multidrive Vehicles, were modernized, re-skinned, and were re-badged to Caterpillar vehicles./> These Caterpillar trucks were exported to many countries and were also used in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, and in other countries. The company re-entered the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

market in 2001, and also started exports to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

that same year. In 2003 the company started producing a whole new range of military vehicles, but the production of the older trucks did not stop. With the death of Brown in 2006, the company was bought by Dr Qu Li./>

Products (AWD Trucks)

File:Bangladesh Bedford TJ Fuel tanker (24583286204).jpg, An AWD TJ in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. File:Bedford TL1630, Malta.jpg, An AWD TL in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. File:Bangladesh Bedford TK tanker. (29368719212).jpg, An AWD TK in

. File:Bedford MK wrecker, Bangladesh. (40904230894).jpg, An AWD KM wrecker in

Products (Multidrive Vehicles)

History

Products (AWD Trucks)

Products (Multidrive Vehicles)

References

External links