A Dutch concern founded in 1928 by Huub van Doorne. The company’s head office is in Eindhoven. DAF is famous for the production of trucks, but it also has passenger cars, vans and buses. Check the history of the DAF Brand.

DAF Brand History

On April 1, 1928, Huub van Doorne founded Commanditaire Vennootschap Huub van Doorne’s Machinefabriek. The co-creator of this workshop was Huenges – director of the brewery. Huub van Doorne repaired his car several times, and he was so impressed with the quality of service that he offered to lend him money to open the workshop. After the Second World War, luxury cars and trucks were rare, which was a great opportunity for DAF. In 1949, the production of trailers, trucks and buses began. In February 1958, the first car ready for sale was officially presented – the reaction was surprising – 4,000 units were ordered, and on March 23 the first two cars left the production line. Due to the low profitability of production, the company sold a division dealing in the production of passenger cars to the Swedish company Volvo.

From 1976, only commercial vehicles were manufactured under the DAF brand. In 1987, DAF merged with Leyland Trucks (part of the MG Rover Group). From this year it is also listed on the Dutch stock exchange as DAF NV. The new company sold its cars under the name Leyland DAF in the United Kingdom and elsewhere under the name DAF. In 1988, two trucks took part in the Dakar Rally. Kees Van Loevestijn, the driver of one of them, died in an accident in which two people died in addition to him. DAF withdrew from the rally. In 1993, DAF NV declared bankruptcy, as a result of which, through a management buyout, three companies were created: LDV Limited – a vans producer based in Birmingham, Leyland Trucks based in Leyland, and DAF Trucks. On November 15, 1996, the PACCAR group bought DAF Trucks.

Source: wikipedia.org