LDV Maxus
| LDV Maxus | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | LDV Limited |
| Also called | Fargo Fora (Turkey) LDV V80 (Australia) Maxus V80 (China) Maxus LD100 Weststar LDV Maxus (Malaysia) |
| Production | 2004–2009 2011–present (SAIC) |
| Assembly |
Pekan, Malaysia (DRB-HICOM) Nizhny Novgorod, Russia (GAZ) Gebze, Turkey (Askam Otomotiv, until 2015) Wuxi, China (Maxus) |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Van |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 2.5 L I4 TDCI |
| Transmission | 5 speed manual 6-speed manual |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor |
LDV Pilot LDV Convoy |
The Maxus is a van model, originally produced by LDV Limited. It was launched in late 2004. The model was jointly developed by LDV and Daewoo Motor, prior to Daewoo entering receivership in 2000, in a five-year, £500 million development programme. Following General Motors' acquisition of Daewoo, LDV secured the exclusive rights to the vehicle, purchased the tooling and moved it from Daewoo's plant in Lublin, Poland to the LDV site in Birmingham. A version of the Maxus is manufactured by GAZ.
In 2011, the Chinese company Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) launched a new commercial vehicle marque called Maxus, following its acquisition of the intellectual property of LDV in 2010. The LDV Maxus model was relaunched by SAIC as the V80 in June 2011.
Since its launch, the Maxus received good reviews and sold well across the United Kingdom. The van was used on fleet basis by companies, such as National Grid, Royal Mail, and various British Police services. Not long after its launch the LDV Maxus was awarded the Professional Van and Light Truck Magazine "Van of the Year 2005" and has since won several further awards including "Van of the Year", "Minibus of the Year" and "Combi of the Year".
LDV was acquired in 2006 by the Russian automotive giant GAZ, that had plans to start production of the Maxus in one of its Russian factories by 2010, but the LDV factory went into administration in June 2009, due to lack of funds from Russian owner GAZ. About 800 workers were laid off during this period leaving the whole van building operation in question. It had been hoped that the Malaysian company Weststar LDV, which distributed the Maxus under licence in Asia and the Middle East, would acquire LDV, but the deal fell through the week before LDV entered administration.
In 2008, LDV manufactured 10,000 vans, generating sales of about £150 million, but lost £54 million in 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, before the failure of the company.
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Wikipedia