LDVLDV Limited is a British van manufacturer, based in the Drews lane area of Wolseley, Birmingham, England. LDV employs around 2,000 at its Birmingham site, producing 15,000-20,000 vehicles annually.
LDV has over 100 years of automotive experience and since 1993 has been independently owned by the management, its 1,200 strong workforce and its financial backers.The company is led by a dedicated light commercial vehicle management team and employs a highly skilled, adaptable and flexible workforce, the factory is located in Birmingham on an 85-acre site close to the M6.
LDV design, manufacture and distribute the widest range of light commercial vehicles in Europe – panel vans, minibuses and chassis cab derivatives. LDV produces over 13,000 specialist vehicles each year for both the private and public sectors, generating an annual turnover in excess of £200 million.
LDV has recently invested over £40 million in new manufacturing and paint technology, delivering world-class automotive quality.
LDV Press Operations is one of the largest in Europe producing over 7.5 million pressings each year including 1.7 million for Land Rover. LDV also supplies 17,000 Defender door assemblies each year to Land Rover.
LDV has recently launched the only dedicated light commercial vehicle all makes parts programme, ‘VANfit’, and has won a major contract to supply 117 Consignia workshops.
LDV is committed to deliver best value in the light commercial vehicle market on new, used, parts and service business.
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, Transco and many other utility companies, which have demonstrated a preference for British-built vehicles. In this market the LDV light vans benefitted from the demise of the Dodge 50 Series. Those 3.5 - 7.5 ton vehicles commonly had built-in compressors and generators to assist with roadworks, and although the LDV models were lighter and were not fitted with these, they met the requirement of being British, and have proved perfectly capable of towing such equipment; a configuration which actually offers greater flexibility and has become the norm.
The Convoy and Pilot (based on the venerable British Leyland Sherpa, and developed considerably throughout the 1970s-90s) are a common sight in the UK. Production of these ceased, after a very long run, in early 2006.
A brand new range of vans was introduced in 2005: the Maxus, which 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.
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