Bedford Vehicles, usually shortened to just Bedford, was a brand of vehicle manufactured by Vauxhall Motors,History of Bedford trucks then a subsidiary of multinational corporation General Motors. Established in April 1931, Bedford Vehicles was set up to build commercial vehicles. The company was a leading international lorry brand, with substantial export sales of light, medium, and heavy lorries throughout the world.
Bedford's core heavy trucks business was divested by General Motors (GM) as AWD Trucks in 1987, whilst the Bedford brand continued to be used on light commercial vehicles and car-derived vans based on Vauxhall/Opel, Isuzu and Suzuki designs. The brand was retired in 1990.
The van manufacturing plant of Bedford, part of Vauxhall Luton, was closed in March 2025.Stellantis stops shift at Luton plant due to pandemic Just Auto 19 July 2021
History Until 1925, General Motors assembled trucks in Britain from parts manufactured at its Canadian works. This enabled them to import vehicles into Britain under Imperial Preference, which favoured products from the British Empire as far as import duties were concerned. Such trucks were marketed as "British Chevrolet".
In November 1925, GM purchased Vauxhall Motors with production transferred from Hendon to Luton, Vauxhall's headquarters, production commencing there in 1929.Why is Vauxhall being sold to Peugeot's owner? BBC News 6 March 2017 The brand was retired in May 1990.Retirement for Bedford name Commercial Motor 31 May 1990
1930s
The AC and LQ models were produced at Luton from 1929 to 1931, and styled as the "Chevrolet Bedford", taking the name from the county town of Bedfordshire, in which Luton is located. The AC was bodied as a light van (12 cwt), and the LQ in a wide variety of roles, including a lorry, ambulance, van and bus versions. The name "Chevrolet" was dropped, and the first Bedford was produced in April 1931. This vehicle, a 2-ton lorry, was virtually indistinguishable from its LQ Chevrolet predecessor, apart from detail styling of the radiator, and was available as the WHG with a wheelbase, or as the WLG with a longer wheelbase of . However, the Chevrolet LQ and AC continued in production alongside the new product for a further year. In August 1931, a bus chassis was added to the range, and was designated WHB and WLB.
A large part of Bedford's original success in breaking into the UK and British Empire markets lay in the overhead-valve (OHV) six-cylinder Chevrolet engine, now known as Chevrolet Stovebolt engine – well ahead of its time, this smooth running inline six-cylinder engine formed the basis of Bedford and Vauxhall petrol engines almost until the marque ceased building trucks and buses.
In April 1932, a 30 cwt lorry was introduced, together with a 12 cwt light delivery van, designated as the WS and VYC models respectively. Bedford continued to develop its share of the light transport market, with the introduction of the 8 cwt ASYC and ASXC vans, a close derivative of the Vauxhall Light Six car. The AS series of vans continued in production until 1939.
Bedford introduced the 3 ton WT series in November 1933. Again, a short wheelbase WHT (), or long wheelbase WLG () version was offered. A change in design of the WLG produced the WTL, with its cab, internal combustion engine and radiator moved forward to allow a bodylength. In 1935, the WTB bus version appeared, and the WS and VYC models were updated – the latter being redesignated BYC as it was fitted with the engine and synchromesh gearbox of the Big Six Vauxhall cars. The 5–6 cwt HC light van was introduced in 1938, based on the Vauxhall Ten car, and the WT and WS acquired a newly styled grill.
Mid -1939 saw a complete revamp of Bedfords, with only the HC van continuing in production. The new range consisted of the K (30–40 cwt), MS and ML (2–3 ton), OS and OL (3–4 ton), OS/40 and OL/40 (5 ton) series, and the OB bus. Also on offer was a new 10–12 cwt van, the JC, derived from the new J Model Vauxhall car. Many of the trucks sold by Bedford between June and September 1939 were requisitioned for military use on the outbreak of World War II; many were abandoned after the retreat from Dunkirk, rendered useless to the enemy by removing the engine oil drain plug and running the engine. Because the German armed forces in 1940 were, contrary to their popular image, desperately short of motor transport, many of these captured Bedfords were repaired and pressed into service alongside Opel Blitz (also part of GM) trucks by the German armed forces – although the Bedfords mainly filled second-line roles, including civil defence.
Production of the new range ceased, apart from a few examples made for essential civilian duties, when Bedford went onto a war footing. Production resumed in 1945.
World War II
In 1935, Bedford began the development of a 15 cwt truck for the British War Office. This entered service as the MW in 1939, and 65,995 examples had been built by the end of the war in 1945. The MW appeared in a wide range of roles, as a water tanker, general duties truck, personnel carrier, petrol tanker, wireless truck and anti-aircraft gun tractor – among others.
The War Office designated 15 cwt vehicles, such as the MW, as trucks, and larger vehicles as lorries.
The 1939 K-, M-, and O-series lorries were quickly redesigned for military use. This was largely a matter of styling, involving a sloping bonnet with a flat front with headlights incorporated and a crash bar to protect the radiator in a minor collision. The military versions were designated OX and OY series, and again were put to a wide range of tasks, including mobile canteens, tankers, general purpose lorries, and a version with a Tasker semi-trailer used by the Royal Air Force to transport dismantled or damaged aircraft. This variant was popularly known as the Queen Mary. A number of Bedford OXD 1.5 ton chassis were converted to make the Bedford OXA armoured vehicle. A total of 72,385 OY and 24,429 OX lorries were built. The Armadillo was an OY fitted for airfield defence with Lewis guns and an ex-aircraft COW 37 mm gun.
Bedford supplied numerous trucks and tanks to the Soviet Union during World War II.
A radical departure from Bedford's design norms came in October 1939, with the development of a four-wheel drive, forward control lorry, which entered service in March 1941 as the QL, quickly nicknamed the "Queen Lizzie". As with the MW and OY / OX models, the QL went on to serve in a large number of roles, such as artillery tractor, gun porter, command vehicle, wireless lorry and petrol tanker, as well as the troop-carrying QLD, the most common variant. An experimental version used the track unit of a Bren gun carrier (or Universal Carrier), as an answer to the German half-track vehicles, which had superior cross-country capability. Production ran at around 12,000 units per year between 1942 and 1944. Many QLs and other Bedford World War II military vehicles served with the British Army, and other forces into the 1960s, and many others were purchased for civilian use after the war.
After the Dunkirk evacuation in June 1940, the British Army had around 100 tanks, most of which were obsolete and inferior to the German tanks of the day. Vauxhall Motors was given one year to design and produce a suitable heavy tank. In May 1941, the Churchill tank derived from work on the A22 tank with Harland & Wolff went into production at Luton, some 5,640 units and 2,000 spare engines being produced at Luton, and other sites under contract to Vauxhall. The resultant need to continue truck production brought about the development of the new Bedford Dunstable plant, which came online in 1942.
For wartime production the OB was temporarily replaced by the "utility" OWB, with which Bedford became the only British manufacturer authorised to build single-deck buses during hostilities.
Apart from vehicle manufacture during World War II, Vauxhall Motors produced steel helmets, RP-3 rocket bodies, and components for Frank Whittle's top-secret jet engine.
1950s
The HC 5–6 cwt van continued briefly after the war, and the JC 10–12 cwt was fitted with the column gear change; and engine from the Vauxhall L Model Wyvern in late 1948; and became the PC. 1952 saw the launch of the Bedford CA light commercial, signifying the end of the road for the outmoded HC and JC models. The CA was a range of vans and pick-ups similar in concept and size to (although pre-dating) the Ford Transit of 1965. These were semi-forward control, having a short bonnet with the rear of the engine protruding into the cab. Engines were the Vauxhall-based OHV in-line four petrol engine, with the option of a Perkins 4/99 or 4/108 diesel engine later on. Performance was adequate for the time, a maximum speed of being attainable with the petrol engine, and offering fuel economy of . The van initially featured a three-speed column gearchange, changing later on to a four-speed column change.
The CA was a huge seller both at home and in various overseas markets. The standard panel van was available in short- and long-wheelbase forms, and was also sold as chassis cab / chassis cowl, and became a popular basis for ice-cream vans, ambulances and camper vans. Known affectionately as "the Tilley", the CA enjoyed a very long production span, with only minor tweaks throughout its life, including the replacement of the two piece windscreen of earlier models with a single sheet. Production ended in 1969.
The CA was replaced by the CF, a highly redesigned vehicle, albeit architecturally similar, but rather larger, using new overhead camshaft (OHC) engines, which was to have a much harder time proving itself thanks to the Ford Transit.
Perhaps the major event of the 1950s was the transfer of all non-car based commercial vehicle manufacture to the former Vauxhall shadow factory at Boscombe Road, Dunstable. Bedford Dunstable plant, dating originally from 1942, was extensively rebuilt and extended between 1955 and 1957, when all production lines were said to be over a mile long. Subsequently, all commercial vehicle manufacture would be concentrated there, with only vans and car-based commercials remaining at the Luton plant. Production of the Bedford commercial vehicle range remained there until production ceased in the 1980s.
The 1950s also saw the launch of the popular S type trucks, the so-called Big Bedfords, which brought Bedford into the 7-ton range. The S series was immortalised in RL form – a four-wheel drive, high ground clearance version, as the Green Goddess emergency fire tender, used by the Auxiliary Fire Service until 1968, then until 2004 over 1,000 were held in reserve by the Home Office for use in the event of fire-service industrial action or other serious emergencies. They were disposed of by the Home Office in 2005. Several have found new homes in African countries that lack a developed fire-fighting service, such as Kenya.Classic and Vintage Commercials (magazine) The C series of 1957 was a forward-control derivative of the S series, and outwardly very similar to it.
These vehicles were available in rigid and tractor units, with either petrol or diesel engines. The UK military were a huge customer for Bedford RLs using a 4.9-litre straight six petrol engine. Many RLs found their way into the armed forces of Commonwealth countries and later into civilian use.
Alongside the S series trucks, the SB bus was released in 1950, and immediately became a big seller in India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and Africa, as well as in the UK. The SB chassis was also used as a basis for specialised vehicles, such as mobile libraries, fire engines, and civil defence control units. The largest fleet of SB buses in the world belonged to New Zealand Railways Road Services, with 1,280 SB buses built between 1954 and 1981.