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A Special Correspondent WHILST Britain remains Holland's principal supplier of commercial vehicles, German products are gaining ground and stand fair to displace this country, as they have done in the case of private cars. Last year, 14,071 new commercial vehicles were registered in Holland, made up as follows.„-7,995 vans, 4,497 lorries, 357 tractors and 222 buses. Britain supplied 3,443 of the vans, Germany 2,649, Czechoslovakia 830, U.S.A. 427, France 401, and Italy 118. Assembly of 3,639 of the vans was completed in Holland itself.
Evidence of the growing importance of the Dutch motor industry is provided by the statistics relating to the new lorries registered in 1950. Out of the 4,497 registered, 1,446 were of British manufacture. 988 Dutch, 979 were produced in Western Germany, 519 in France, 276 in Sweden, 162 in the United States and 127 in Belgium. A total of 1,447 lorries was assembled in Holland. In 1949, 1,087 lorries were imported from this country, and none from Western Germany.
Only 69 of the .222 new buses registered in Holland last year came from the United Kingdom. Dutch production accounted for 89, and 44 came from Sweden, 36 from Switzerland and only nine from Germany. Assembly of 87 buses was also carried out in Holland.
This year, home production is expected to supply over 2,000 out of the 4,000. chassis needed for the Dutch market. This is a direct result of the establishment last year of Van Doorne Automohilevverke (D.A.F.) at Eindhoven. Production commenced on April 14, 1950, and by October, 1,000 lorries had been delivered.
Present output is on the scale of 40 goods-vehicle chassis and tractors a week, as well as a smaller number of -bus chassis. The new company is an associate of the D.A.F. trailer concern, established in 1928 by two brothers, Hub and Wim Van Doorne, who remain
in control of the organization, which now occupies 194,000 sq. ft. of factory space.
Government subsidy enabled production to start, and restrictions on the import of foreign chassis protect the concern. Engines, axles, gearboxes and other components continue to be imported for incorporation in D.A.F. vehicles.
Modern machinery is, however, to be obtained from abroad, with the assistance of Marshall Aid funds, and, in the next few years, the DILE factories are to be extended to four times their present size. Economic use of this equipment is guaranteed by the present production rate of 2,500 vehicles a year. This figure will be doubled by 1953.
This year will see the commencement of axle and gearbox production at Eindhoven, and later, American Hercules engines are to be manufactured under licence for the Dutch market and for export to non-dollar areas. At present, the D.A.F. concerns employ 1,000 nn. shortly to be increased to 2,000.
Hercules or Perkins
Hercules six-cylindered petrol engines or Perkins P.6 oil engines power the present 5-ton and 6-ton lorries, and a Hercules oil engine is fitted in the 7-tonner. A two-speed rear .axle is a feature of the range and all the types produced have forward control.
A chassisless bus is also produced, powered by the Perkins engine, which is mounted on rails and rollers, and can be rapidly withdrawn by hand from the chassis. A new addition to the programme is a 1-ton van, powered by a Hercules four-cylindered petrol engine.
A special tractor and semi-trailer unit capable of carrying three railway containers is also manufactured, and is in use in Belgium and Switzerland, as well as in Holland, and is shortly to be produced under licence in Germany. Exports of D.A.F. vehicles to Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Turkey, New Guinea and Nigeria tndicate that the new Dutch manufacturer is becoming a competitor to this country in world markets.