THE END FOR BEDFORD
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Having produced more than 3.5 million vehicles, Bedford closed in 1986 after declining sales. The TM simply couldn’t compete with the Volvo F12, Scania 112 or even the ageing DAF 3600, while the Mercedes LN2 and Leyland Roadrunner ranges made the TL look dated.
The plug was pulled in September that year when it was announced Bedford would cease producing the TM and TL. Military production continued, although failure to win a big contract with the MoD brought an end to this not long afterwards.
The TL was to briefly live on from 1987 under the AWD banner, but that only lasted another four years. Marshall SPV bought AWD in 1992, and even revived the Bedford name for an 18t TL, but these fizzled out in 1998 and then Bedford was truly at an end.