The Foden S106 belongs to the last phase of the marque, when Foden was a small part of Paccar’s British truck business. Foden production ended in 1999, after 423 lorries in 1998 and 1,123 in 1999; the models sold afterwards were built at the Leyland plant and were in effect rebadged DAFs until the name was retired in 2006.
Foden S106 at a glance
| Model | Foden S106 lorry |
|---|---|
| Maker | Foden, Elworth near Sandbach, Cheshire, England |
| Owner from 1980 | Paccar |
| Company name from 1983 | Foden Trucks |
| Output in 1998 | 423 lorries |
| Output in 1999 | 1,123 lorries |
| End of production at Foden | 1999 |
| After 1999 | Foden models built at the Leyland plant |
| Last models | badge-engineered DAF models |
| End of the marque | 2006 |
based on one source: no dedicated page for the S106 exists; the article describes the marque’s final years from the Foden company history.
History of the Foden S106
The last production years
After Paccar acquired the company in 1980 and renamed it Sandbach Engineering, Foden’s lorry production restarted in 1981 at a low level, concentrated on four-axle models; from 1983 the company was called Foden Trucks. Output in the final years was modest: 423 lorries in 1998 and 1,123 in 1999.
1999: the works falls silent
Production at Foden stopped in 1999. Until 2006 Foden models continued to be built at the Leyland plant, which also belonged to Paccar, but by then the vehicles offered under the Foden name were only badge-engineered DAF models. Low demand brought the marque to an end in 2006.
What came before
Foden had begun at Elworth near Sandbach in 1856 as an agricultural engineering business, built steam wagons from the 1890s, moved to diesel with the F1 of 1931 — regarded as the first commercially successful diesel lorry — and supplied heavy lorries, buses and military equipment in the decades that followed. Its own FD6 two-stroke diesel was standard in certain heavy models until 1977.
Design and features
- The final generation: Fodens of the Paccar era, built in small numbers.
- Small output: 423 lorries in 1998 and 1,123 in 1999.
- Shared engineering: the last models were badge-engineered DAFs.
- The end of a marque: the Foden name was dropped in 2006.
Foden S106 versions
- Four-axle models (from 1981): the focus of production after the Paccar takeover.
- Foden Trucks range (from 1983): the lorries sold under the renamed company.
- Leyland-built Fodens (1999–2006): badge-engineered DAF models.
- Fleetmaster and Haulmaster (1977): the generation before the Paccar years.
The years around the Paccar takeover are described in Foden S83, and the marque’s final models in Foden Alpha. More Foden lorries are in the Foden collection.
Sources
- Foden Trucks, English Wikipedia: Paccar, end of the marque in 2006
- Foden, German Wikipedia: 1998–99 output, 1999 end of production, Leyland and DAF years
