Bedford World Van Concept
| Bedford World Van | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Bedford Vehicles Freight Rover |
| Production | 1981 (the project ended in 1986) |
| Designer | Geoff Lawson |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Truck |
The Bedford World Van was a project created by General Motors to replace the Bedford CF vans that were getting very outdated by that time.[1]
History[edit]
In 1982 Bedford Vehicles was separated from Vauxhall Motors and became a part of the GMC Truck & Coach Division to make the brand more independent.[1] General Motors did that move so they could possibly merge the brand with a more profitable manufacturer, in case it was nearing bankruptcy, and also to create a "world truck" project that would be on the standards of the Ford Transit, which at that time was the best selling van in the United Kingdom.
The project was going to be a replacement for the Bedford CF vans that were over 10 years at the time, and were getting relatively obsolete, however, during that time Bedford decided to make a joint venture with Isuzu and Suzuki to produce the Isuzu Fargo and Suzuki Carry under the Bedford name. The Fargo produced in the UK under the Midi name was an indirect replacement for the CF vans, until the "world van" project was fully realized.
Bedford Vehicles tried in making a joint venture with British Leyland to produce the Freight Rover 300 series vans,[2][circular reference] and "resurrect" the "world van" project, however, these plans came to nothing by 1986, due to economic problems causing the divesting of the company into IBC Vehicles and AWD Trucks. After that the project was fully abandoned, with the Midi being chosen as the replacement for the CF vans, while a version of the Isuzu Faster produced under license as the Bedford/Vauxhall Brava was built as a replacement for the CF pickups, resulting in the Bedford name eventually dropped in 1995, with the Vauxhall name applied to both passenger cars and commercial vehicles, and Vauxhall made another joint venture with Renault to produce the Renault Trafic and Renault Master vans, as the Vauxhall Vivaro and the Vauxhall Movano vehicles. The Arena replaced the Midi, but eventually the Arena model was renamed the Vivaro model.
Various other concepts were made such as heavy-duty trucks and medium-duty trucks that were intended to compete with other manufacturer's products such as Mercedes-Benz, and replace the Bedford TL and Bedford TM ranges.
The design for the Bedford TM replacement along with the vehicle's tooling was sold to a Chinese manufacturer[3] called the First Tractor company,[4] that used the design to create the YTO 408 (also known as the Luoyang LT) truck.[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The Bedford "World Van"?". Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ↑ "BEDFORD 9700". Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ↑ "BEDFORD TM". Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ↑ "Bedford TM". Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ↑ "Luoyang LT Range - Chinese Truck with Bedford TM Cab". Retrieved 8 September 2021.
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