Joint venture to develop new CF?
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• The long-awaited replacement to the Bedford CI' might take the form of a joint venture between IBC Vehicles and another light commecial builder outside the General Motors group.
IBC has been examining the option of bringing in an existing design from Isuzu, based on the NKR (CM 4 February) reengineering it for the UK market as was done with the Midi van, but it may yet decide to form a joint venture to develop the CF replacement.
IBC is expected to make a decision on this before the end of the year, although a new model is unlikely to make an appearance much before the middle of 1990. IBC Vehicles is jointlyowned by Isuzu and GM. It was established in Britain over a year ago to take over Bedford's van building operations. Manufacturers which need to replace their product ranges in the medium/heavy van sector include Freight Rover and Renault, so they could be seen as possible partners.
I: IBC is to begin UK trials with Midi chassis-cabs (the Midi is currently sold only as a van or minibus) which could lead to a chassis-cab being sold in Britain next year.