DAF has produced its 10,000^th PACCAR body at Leyland Trucks, the Lancashire-based manufacturing facility; a milestone in the truck maker’s in-house body programme which designs, manufactures and installs a wide range of box, Aerobody and curtainsided bodies on a dedicated production line.

PACCAR Inc is the US-based global commercial vehicle manufacturer boasting a portfolio of leading brands in the US, Europe and throughout the world. The company is parent to both DAF Trucks and Leyland Trucks in the UK.

The PACCAR body programme – a unique offering among truck manufacturers – is available on 4×2 rigid chassis across DAF LF and CF model series. Over 500 customers have taken advantage of the PACCAR body programme since its launch in 2007, including major fleet operators such as Ryder, Royal Mail and Enterprise. Bodies include box, Aerobody and curtainsider variants, with a myriad of options for length, height and width, column and tuck-away tail-lifts, load restraints and lighting, and much more, incorporating customer specific requirements that can extend to full vehicle finish including complete vehicle painting and livery application.

Operator Hallam Express in Sheffield is the recipient of the 10,000^th vehicle – a 12.0-tonne DAF LF 180 curtainsider, one of an order for two LF 180s alongside six 18-tonne LF 260 curtainsiders. Vehicles will be split between Hallam Express and sister company 4S Distribution. At a special production line ceremony, Hallam Express and 4S Distribution Managing Director David Simpson received the keys from Leyland Trucks Managing Director Brennan Gourdie, alongside Evans Halshaw’s Lester Freakley and members of the team from DAF Trucks and Leyland Trucks.

We were very pleased indeed with the ability to spec and acquire a complete bodied vehicle through our DAF Dealer Evans Halshaw in Sheffield,” said David Simpson, “The ordering process was very simple and, as you would expect, the lead-time is reduced substantially – it is a genuine one-stop-shop service. The same high-quality engineering is evident in the PACCAR body as it is in the chassis and we’re looking forward to an extensive, trouble-free service life from our DAF vehicles. We acquired two XF tractor units late last year,” he said, “and they’ve proved very reliable and productive. More recently, our drivers have been very impressed with some rental DAF rigids – we felt it time to acquire some new DAFs.

Jon Tinsley, Bodybuilding & Re-engineering Manager at Leyland Trucks, added, “Our PACCAR body programme is a match for any bodybuilder in terms of quality and choice. Over 500 customers and 10,000 PACCAR bodied vehicles to date is confirmation that operators see a clear advantage in specifying a complete vehicle through a single DAF Dealer acting as a single point of contact – a true one-stop-shop for acquiring a bodied truck – with the assurance of high-quality and a drastically reduced lead-time.”

The 10,000^th PACCAR body landmark comes soon after DAF Trucks declared its largest ever share of the UK truck market in 2019, with 30.5% of the market above 6.0 tonnes GVW – up from 27.2% in 2018 and out-performing the company’s previous high of 30.1% in 2016. The record-breaking share results from 14,814 DAF registrations in 2019 – the highest volume for any manufacturer since 1988 (when DAF Trucks registered over 15,000 trucks and when the total UK market above 6.0-tonnes was almost 68,000 units).

Built in Britain

The vast majority of right-hand-drive DAF vehicles for the UK market are built at Leyland Trucks. The state-of-the-art Leyland Assembly Plant produced over 19,500 vehicles in 2019, with more than 12,500 going to UK operators and just over 7,100 exported across the world to 51 countries.