Daf talks to Paccar on US Roadnniners
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• Leyland Daf has lived up to its promise of being profitable from day one, according to Aart Van der Padt, chairman of Dafs management board. Van der Padt also says that Leyland's 6,500-strong workforce has increased its productivity by over 10% and that Paccar, the US-truck builder which lost out in the race for Leyland Trucks, could sell up to 3,000 Leyland-built Roadrunners a year in America if new discussions prove successful. Speaking at the launch this week of the 95 Series truck range, Van der Padt confirmed that Daf is also talking to several potential partners about the possibility of sharing the £75 million costs of developing a van to replace the Freight Rover Sherpa.
He says that Daf hopes to lift Sherpa van output to as much as 50,000 vehicles a year compared with about 20,000 in 1987, following the introduction of a new model. The Leyland truck plant is expected to build close to 12,000 vehicles by the end of this year.
Although no financial details have so far been released for Leyland Daf, which is wholly owned by Daf By, the latest financial results for the enlarged Daf company (which is 40% owned by Rover Group) are better than for the same period last year, and will beat the full-year £10.1 millon nett profit achieved last year, says Van der Padt.