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LDV gives Bulldog more bite

13th April 1995, Page 20
13th April 1995
Page 20
Page 20, 13th April 1995 — LDV gives Bulldog more bite
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The long awaited Bulldog range, said by LDV to be a 'dramatic transformation of the 200 and 400 series', will benefit from extra investment above the £20m earmarked for the project.

by Brian Weatherley • Birmingham-based van maker LDV has raised its investment in its forthcoming Bulldog medium/heavy van project to ,C30m following an extensive market research programme and better than expected financial results for 1994.

Extra money The extra money will mean more improvements to the long-awaited Bulldog range, described by LDV sales and marketing director Jim Parks as "a dramatic transformation of the 200 and 400 Series".

Although LDV was originally planning to spend around £20m on the Bulldog, feedback from operator panels held last year and the performance of the company since its birth in 1993 "has given us the confidence to dig a little deeper," Says mark eting director Malcolm Jefferies.

Parks emphasises that the new range will have more than just a facelifted, more aerodynamic front end. "There's a lot more to the vehicle than changes forward of the A-post."

While LDV is giving nothing away, Commercial Motor expects Bulldog to have new door pressings and a revised rear-end while retaining the existing 200 and 400 Series cargo floor pans and main body panels.

Parks says the additional work will not affect the launch date at the end of 1995.

The new model will have been developed outside the previous, and now defunct, joint Daf/Renault Excel van project. "It's not part of our strategy to recreate Excel," says Jefferies. "We have to take a strong product into the market place."

The 2.0 to 4.1-tonne GVW weight range covered by the existing 200 and 400 Series vans is likely to be retained in the Bulldog range. LDV's 400 Series heavy van range is currently outselling the smaller 200 Series by about 2:1.

Body panels The £30m investment will cover the cost of design and tooling for the new van, says Parks.

LDV has already recently spent £7m on tooling for new body panels in its press shop, which is one of the largest in Europe, and produces body panels for the Land Rover Defender, Discovery and Range Rover.

Following the collapse of the Daf/Renault Excel van project (which was based at LDV's refurbished Bromford House headquarters building), LDV prepared to work with a European partner to develop a future generation of light commercials post-Bulldog.

"I don't know that we have to have one," says Parks, "but that's the way the market is going, although there's nobody there at the moment."

The existing model (below) is still selling well—the AA has placed a £6m order for 400 Series vans.


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