The Foden Alpha was one of the last lorries to carry the Foden name. By the time it was sold the company had long been part of Paccar, output was small — 423 lorries in 1998 and 1,123 in 1999 — and after production at Foden ended in 1999 the remaining models were badge-engineered DAFs built at Leyland.
Foden Alpha at a glance
| Model | Foden Alpha lorry |
|---|---|
| Maker | Foden, Sandbach, Cheshire, England |
| Owner | Paccar, from 1980 |
| Company name | Sandbach Engineering Company from 1980, Foden Trucks from 1983 |
| Production focus from 1981 | four-axle models |
| Output in 1998 | 423 lorries |
| Output in 1999 | 1,123 lorries |
| End of production at Foden | 1999 |
| Built at Leyland | 1999–2006, as badge-engineered DAF models |
| End of the marque | 2006 |
based on one source: no dedicated page for the Alpha exists; the article describes the marque’s final years from the Foden company history.
History of the Foden Alpha
The last Foden range
Foden had been owned by Paccar since 1980. Lorry production restarted in 1981 at a low level, concentrated on four-axle models, and from 1983 the company traded as Foden Trucks. The volumes of the final years were small: 423 lorries in 1998 and 1,123 in 1999, the last full year of production at Foden.
Badge engineering
Production at Foden ended in 1999. Until 2006 Foden models were still built at the Leyland plant, which belonged to Paccar as well, but the vehicles sold under the Foden name were by then only badge-engineered DAF models. Low demand ended the marque in 2006.
A long history behind the badge
Foden began at Elworth near Sandbach in 1856 as an agricultural engineering firm, built steam wagons from the 1890s and moved to diesel with the F1 of 1931, regarded as the first commercially successful diesel lorry. Its own FD6 two-stroke diesel was standard in certain heavy models until 1977, when the Cummins- and Rolls-Royce-engined Fleetmaster and Haulmaster took over.
Design and features
- A Paccar brand: the Alpha was sold when Foden belonged to the American group.
- Small volumes: 423 lorries in 1998 and 1,123 in 1999.
- Shared engineering: the last Foden-badged vehicles were rebodied DAFs.
- The end of the name: the marque was retired in 2006.
Foden Alpha versions
- Four-axle Fodens (from 1981): the models on which production concentrated.
- Foden Trucks range (from 1983): the lorries of the renamed company.
- Leyland-built Fodens (1999–2006): badge-engineered DAFs.
- Fleetmaster and Haulmaster (1977): the last range designed as a Foden.
The takeover years are described in Foden S83, and the final production period in Foden S106. More Foden lorries are in the Foden collection.
Video: Our Foden Alpha !
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Foden Trucks, English Wikipedia: Paccar ownership, end of the marque
- Foden, German Wikipedia: 1998–99 output, Leyland and DAF years
