Marshall `Bedfords' roll out
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• The first Bedford-designed truck rolled off the line at Marshall SPV's assembly plant at Cambridge last week.
Marshall SPV (Special Purpose Vehicles), part of the familyowned Marshall group, acquired product designs and some of AWD's assets from the receivers last October. By the end of this year all production is due to be transferred from Dunstable to the Cambridge Airport Works.
The new plant could turn out 1,000 vehicles a year on single shift: projected first year sales are for 500 vehicles. The company already has export orders for 130 vehicles. Initial production will be concentrated on the forward-control MT 4x4, TL 6x4, TM 6x6 and the bonneted TJ 4x2.
The new generation of 12 and 14.75-tonne MT 4x4s have Perkins engines, power steering, tilt cabs, payloads of 7-9 tonnes and improved off-road performance. Civilian versions still use air/hydraulic brakes with spring brake actuators on the rear axle for parking.
Next year the 12/15-tonne MT range will be extended with a 17tonne version powered by one of the three Perkins Phaser engines. Models equipped with turbocharged versions rated at 119 and 134kW (160 and 180hp) will become available for the home market.The former AWD dealer network, comprising 37 main dealers and 60 service agents, is still largely in place.