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DAFIn 1928 Hubert "Hub" van Doorne founded the company as Commanditaire Vennootschap Hub van Doorne's Machinefabriek. His co-founder and investor was Huenges, managing director of a brewery. Van Doorne had repaired Huenges's car several times. Huenges was so pleased with his work that he offered to lend him money if he wanted to start for his own. Hub started to work in a small workshop on the grounds of the brewery. In 1932 the company, now run by Hub and his brother, Wim van Doorne, changed its name to Van Doorne's Aanhangwagen Fabriek (Van Doorne's Trailer Factory), abbreviated to DAF. Huenges left the company in 1936 and the DAF company was now completely in the hands of the van Doorne brothers.
After the Second World War, luxury cars and trucks were very scarce. This meant a big opportunity for DAF. In 1949 the company started making trucks, trailers and buses, changing its name to Van Doorne's Automobiel Fabriek (Van Doorne's Automobile Factory). The first truck model was the DAF A30.
In the winter of 1954 Hub van Doorne had the idea to use belt drive, just like many of the machines in the factory that were belt-driven, to drive road vehicles. In 1955 DAF produced its first drafts of a car belt drive system. Over the next few years the design was developed and refined. In February 1958 DAF demonstrated a small belt-driven four-seater car at the Dutch car show (the AutoRAI). The public reaction was very positive and 4000 cars were ordered. In 1959 DAF started selling the world's first car with a continuously variable transmission, the small four-seater DAF 600. This was the first of a series of models to be released in subsequent years, including the DAF 30, DAF 44, DAF 55 and DAF 66, all using the innovative Variomatic transmission system.
In 1967 DAF opened a new plant in Born for car production. The 44 was the first model to be produced there.[1]
DAF sold its passenger car division, along with what is now the NedCar factory in Born, in 1975 to the Swedish company Volvo Cars, leaving DAF to concentrate on its successful line of trucks.
In 1987 DAF merged with the Leyland Trucks division of Rover Group, and was floated on the Dutch stock exchange as DAF NV. The new company traded as Leyland DAF in the UK, and as DAF elsewhere.
DAF's successful 95 series was introduced in 1988, bringing DAF their first International Truck of the Year title. This series of trucks was expanded, with the 85, 75, 65, 45 and later the 55.
DAF Bus was split off of in 1990 to become a part of United Bus.
Following difficulties in the British market, DAF NV went bankrupt in 1993. A new company, DAF Trucks, appeared in the Netherlands as a result of a management buy-out of the Dutch operations, as did Leyland Trucks and LDV (vans) in the UK.
In 1996 PACCAR acquired DAF Trucks. Interestingly, DAF Trucks and Leyland Trucks came together again in 1998 when PACCAR also acquired Leyland Trucks.
The first passenger car, assigned the model number 600, created a sensation when a prototype was presented in 1958. The car featured a unitary steel construction, with a front mounted, aircooled two cylinder boxer engine driving the rear wheels through a centrifugal clutch and the variomatic. The way this was constructed it eliminated the need for a differential, with the drivebelts taking up the difference of speed in the corners. This acted as a limited slip differential. The car had independent suspension all round, with McPherson struts and a transverse leaf spring at the front, and a coil sprung swingaxle design at the rear.The first 600s rolled off the production line in the following year. The next model was the 750, featuring a larger 749 cc twin.
Later, DAF produced a more luxurious type called the Daffodil, divided into three models assigned the numbers DAF 30, DAF 31 and DAF 32. The designation 32 was changed to 33 upon the release of the 44, a larger middle-class vehicle designed by Michelotti. It featured a completely new design, but was mechanically of the same layout as the "A-type's" (the 600,750,30,31,32 and 33), with the main difference being its 850 cc two cylinder engine.
The DAF 55 carried a bigger watercooled 1100cc engine derived from the Renault 8. Its design was altered from the 44 by a new front which accommodated the longer engine and radiator, and a move to torsion bars for the front suspension.
The DAF 66 was introduced as a successor to the 55. It featured new, boxy styling of the front, and a new rear axle design. The two drive belts now powered a differential, and the axle was changed from a swingaxle design to a leaf sprung de Dion-axle. It was a major improvement over the (tricky) handling of the swing axles of the earlier 33,44 and 55 models.
Volvo gained a large interest in DAF in the early 70's, taking over the company and the NedCar plant in 1975. It dropped the 33 and 44 models, and rebadged the DAF 66 as the Volvo 66), with bigger bumpers and a safety steering wheel. The DAF 46 was developed under Volvo, and was basically a 44, with the rear axle of a 66 and a single-belt variomatic (half the 66's transmission). The Volvo 300 series, introduced in 1976 had been designed as a DAF, with a Variomatic transmission similar to that of a 66.
DAF produced their first truck, the A30, in 1949. This truck was upgraded in the following years. Their first attempt into the international market was a failure, the 2000DO. Their next truck was the 2600, which became a big seller. They also produced a so-called torpedo-front tractor.
In the 1970s a new body style was introduced, which was upgraded into the late 1980s. DAF was also one of the first to introduce a turbocharged diesel engine into their trucks, which in these years became very evident with their 3600.
Production of DAF trucks began in 1950 when the first forward-control 5-tonner was launched, powered by a Hercules 6-cylinder side-valve gasoline engine. A Perkins P6 diesel was optional. Prior to that, as DAF Aanhangenwagenfabrik NV, it had built trailers. The origins of the company date back to 1928 when its founder Hubertus van Doome and his brother Wim began in general engineering. During the German occupation of The Netherlands experimental military vehicles were built. In the post-war period the brothers shrewdly foresaw a boom in demand for civilian trucks and, with support from the Dutch government, a new truck plant was built at Eindhoven in 1949. So successful were the early DAFs that the factory was enlarged just a few years later to six times its original size.
From 1953 DAF began using Leyland engines and from 1956 began building them under licence. The model range expanded rapidly as did export sales. By 1958 they commanded a third of the Dutch domestic truck market. Soon DAF undertook its own development of Leyland's 0.350, 0.375, 0.600 and 0.680 diesels and was experimenting with turbocharged versions. Normal-control trucks were added to the range.
An important new model, the 2600, was launched in 1962 and this was to put DAF among the world leaders. It included maximum-weight rigids and artics for gross combination weights up to 40 tonnes, and featured a modem well-appointed cab for long-haul operations. DAF underwent further rapid expansion and a new cab and axle plant was opened at Ophasselt in Belgium.
In 1970 a new tilt-cab range was announced with increased power and gross weight ratings. DAF lost its independence in 1972 when the International Harvester Group bought a third of the company's shares. Some International components began to be introduced and for a brief period DAF offered a version of the American company's Payslar bonneted truck using DAF running units. DAF ran into further difficulties in 1975 following heavy investment in new facilities. Van shareholding was reduced to 61 per cent in 1975 when the Dutch State Mines came to the rescue and purchased 25 per cent of DAF's shares.
Rigid eight-wheelers for 30 tons, the became available in the UK from J Models were added to the lighter end of the range in 1978 when DAF became involved with the Club of Four tilt-cab project. At the same time heavier-duty models up to 100 tonnes added, based on the 2800.
After International bought shares in it took over Seddon Atkinson in the UK and bought a stake in the Spanish ENASA group which built Pegaso trucks. From 1978 International was forced, for economic reasons, to sell its European interests but tlie link between DAF, Seddon Atkinson and ENASA resulted in a joint Cabtec project which developed a new heavy truck cab used on all three makes. It went on DAF's new 95 series.
In 1987 when the British manufacturer Leyland ran into insolvency problems, DAF agreed a merger and subsequently the trucks were badged as Leyland DAF in the UK and DAF elsewhere. DAF were then to concentrate on heavy vehicles while Leyland produced light and medium trucks, these being marketed as DAFs in The Netherlands. All was not well, however, and by 1993 Leyland DAF collapsed when DAF became bankrupt and had to be rescued by the Dutch and Belgian governments. The Leyland plant became Leyland Tmcks Ltd but the Leyland DAF dealer network continued to market both makes.
The last significant DAF launch was that of the 75 and 85 series that appeared in 1993, but various improvements have taken place in recent years including the introduction of their flagship long-haul tractor, the 95XF in May 1997. Since November 1996 DAF has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Paccar Inc., who also own Foden Trucks. Since taking over DAF, Paccar has also, in June 1998, acquired the Leyland truck business. During 1998 assembly of certain DAF trucks was introduced at the UK Foden plant. From January 2000 the Leyland name has been dropped from Leyland DAF.
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