page_title: DAF Trucks
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: DAF Trucks / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A DAF YA-328 at an event for vintage cars in Germany. I couldn't believe that was a DAF when I saw it for the first time.
context_page_description: DAF Trucks is a Dutch truck manufacturing company and a division of Paccar. Its headquarters and main plant are in Eindhoven. Cabs and axle assemblies are produced at its Westerlo plant in Belgium. Some of the truck models sold with the DAF brand are designed and built by Leyland Trucks at its Leyland plant in England.
context_section_description: In 1928, Hubert "Hub" van Doorne founded the company as Commanditaire Vennootschap Hub van Doorne's Machinefabriek. His co-founder and investor was A.H. Huenges, managing director of a brewery. Van Doorne had repaired Huenges' car several times, and Huenges, pleased with his work, offered to finance him in business. Hub started to work in a small workshop on the grounds of the brewery. 
  In 1932, the company, by then 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 then completely in the hands of the van Doorne brothers.
  DAF developed the Trado conversions to convert 4×2 Ford trucks to an off-road 6×4 drive. One of DAF's few armoured vehicles, the M39 Pantserwagen, used developments of this Trado drivetrain. M39 production came too late for World War II - in the invasion of the Netherlands (1940) only three saw combat.
  After World War II luxury cars and lorries were very scarce. This meant a big opportunity for DAF. In 1949, the company started making  lorries, trailers and buses, changing its name to Van Doorne's Automobiel Fabriek (Van Doorne's Automobile Factory). The first lorry model was the DAF A30.
  Through the 1950s, DAF was a major supplier to the re-equipping of the Dutch Army's softskin vehicles, with models such as the DAF YA-126 and DAF YA-328 'Dikke Daf'. These used the all-wheel drive H-drive developed from the Trado conversions.
  In the end 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 33, 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.
  In 1972, International Harvester of Chicago bought a 33% stake in DAF (with the Dutch government holding 25% and the Van Doorne family holding the remaining 42%), forming a joint venture. This agreement lasted until 1981. 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 lorries.
  In 1987, DAF merged with the Leyland Trucks division of Rover Group, and in June 1989 was floated on the Dutch and London Stock Exchanges as DAF NV. The new company traded as Leyland DAF in the United Kingdom, and as DAF elsewhere.
  DAF Bus was split off in 1990 to become a part of United Bus. Following difficulties in the British market, After DAF NV was placed in administration in February 1993, the Dutch operations were sold in a management buyout with the business branded DAF Trucks.
  In October 1996 Paccar acquired DAF Trucks. DAF Trucks and Leyland Trucks were rejoined in June 1998, when Paccar also acquired Leyland Trucks.
  On 9 January 2012, Paccar installed the cornerstone of the new plant in the city of Ponta Grossa, in the state of  Paraná, Brazil.
  DAF now has a net worth of 1.7 Billion dollars
caption: A DAF YA-328 military truck
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