AWD Trucks (All Wheel Drive) was a British truck manufacturer that produced

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

trucks from 1987 to 1992, until it was merged with

Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group Marshall Group (registered as Marshall of Cambridge (Holdings) Ltd,) is a British company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Subsidiaries include Marshall Aerospace, an aircraft maintenance, modification, and design company located a ...

. The last truck of the company was discontinued in 1998, and so the Bedford name became entirely defunct at that time. There is another British based company called AWD Company Limited Of Camberley in Surrey England an entirely different original brandname who were specialized in developing and manufacturing all wheel driven lorries, earthmoving machinery and other 4WD 6WD roadvehicles founded in 1958 production ended in 1966.

History

In 1986,

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

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. Brown restarted production of the heavy-duty trucks ( Bedford TJ, Bedford TK, Bedford MK, 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 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 Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...

and

Isuzu , commonly known as Isuzu (, ), is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu commercial vehicles and diesel engines ...

. 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: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, they were only bought by the

construction industry Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the ...

and the

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

.> 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, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, 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 ...

. 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 , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

market in 2001, and also started exports to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

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 (Multidrive Vehicles)

History

Products (Multidrive Vehicles)

References

External links