Alexander Dennis Bus Company

I noticed in NZ vehicle statistics that Alexander Dennis (ADL) has been selling buses here. I got to wondering about the company. It is a British bus making firm with plants in Falkirk, Scarborough and Guildford. They build buses in the US and soon will be in Canada. Buses are assembled in China and New Zealand also. They are popular in markets such as Hong Kong where double decker buses are so practical. In fact they are such an efficient way of transporting more people, I assume access limitations due to height as the only issue that could limit them in some situations. Having used them in the UK when visiting, I enjoyed the commanding view from upstairs.

In the UK for the first three months of 2015, according to SMMT data ADL sold just over 350 buses for nearly one third of the total UK bus market. Obviously the bus market isn't big in volumes but that is an impressive percentage.

ADL are strong in the UK, North America and Asia but surprisingly not so in Europe. Perhaps an area for growth in the future for the company.

Photos from: ADL

Sweden Car Sales By Brand : 1975-79

The DAF 66 that became the Volvo 66

Sales peaked in 1976, then retrenched markedly afterwards due to oil crises and internal economic issues. As it turned out Volvo weathered this time well on the sales chart, while Saab and VW didn't. Mazda was leading the Japanese offensive and was 6th best selling brand by 1979. Of the larger selling makes, only Japanese ones grew in this difficult time...and Lada.

BLMC was about finished by decade's end, and a sales flurry by Rootes (Hillman) was soon over. DAF was taken over by Volvo in 1975 and that brand was soon phased out, perhaps a reason why Volvo sales held up so well.

	Brand	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
	Volvo	58,139	75,425	55,681	49,831	55,780
	Saab	44,250	39,520	29,667	27,427	29,838
	Ford	25,330	31,894	26,060	22,043	22,813
	Opel/Vauxhall	25,006	31,149	22,195	17,969	22,141
	VW	31,930	28,985	22,755	17,316	19,741
	Mazda	6,071	7,644	8,073	6,641	8,563
	Fiat	14,055	13,441	7,986	7,102	7,162
	Mercedes	13,613	13,749	9,342	6,009	6,671
	Renault	8,186	9,412	7,864	6,968	6,146
	Toyota	7,484	9,008	8,098	6,427	5,389
	Audi	8,189	7,108	7,565	3,639	4,646
	Datsun	3,525	5,479	4,819	3,171	4,501
	Peugeot	7,379	6,527	6,047	5,078	4,328
	BMW	5,930	5,525	4,285	3,143	3,332
	Lada	1,521	2,256	2,782	3,563	3,016
	Honda	1,557	3,451	3,864	3,248	2,997
	Simca	3,218	7,907	4,518	4,496	2,588
	Citroën	4,515	4,026	3,279	2,194	2,119
	Lancia	236	162	265	494	944
	Alfa Romeo	2,429	2,159	1,284	1,235	851
	GM US	976	1,556	773	444	560
	BLMC	2,980	2,544	1,540	838	372
	Škoda	682	616	400	567	297
	Chrysler	376	333	441	439	84
	Autobianchi	2	951	1,305	396	13
	Rootes	378	526	275	52
	DAF	7,075	1,175	7
	Others	296	352	204	144	433
	Total	285,328	312,880	241,374	200,874	215,325

Data source: ABStatistik.

All other articles in the series: 1950-54, 1955-59, 1960-64, 1965-69, 1970-74,
1980-84, 1985-89, 1990-94, 1995-99, 2000-04, 2005-09, and 2010-14.

Simca Car Production By Model : 1970-79

In 1970, Simca became known as Chrysler France just as the Rootes Group (Hillman) was named Chrysler UK. The union never worked, as a clear vision of how to move forward didn't materialise. The cars they made were not bad in themselves, but the Chrysler Europe division was poorly managed.

At least Chrysler France got new models and they are listed below. Production numbers were reasonable, but Chrylser HQ wanted to rid itself of something it had lost interest in. The company was handed over to PSA (Peugeot) in 1978. The name Talbot was revived for the cars.

Year	Horizon	1307	1100	Rancho	160/180	1000	13/1500	CKD	Total
1970	-	-	133,574	-	18,394	112,165	106,077	-	370,210
1971	-	-	184,816	-	63,225	106,398	99,953	-	454,392
1972	-	-	223,421	-	41,340	111,522	100,721	-	477,004
1973	-	-	235,142	-	50,999	111,520	103,940	-	501,601
1974	-	-	226,450	-	22,450	77,461	66,071	-	392,432
1975	-	46,693	215,070	-	24,511	71,346	47,366	-	404,986
1976	-	244,041	176,216	-	19,426	60,994	-	-	500,677
1977	387	258,200	168,235	-	11,760	48,943	-	-	487,525
1978	207,500	156,900	66,300	-	11,700	12,900	-	-	455,300
1979	222,300	113,000	55,800	17,200	1,000	-	-	75,000	484,300

Data source: Freyssenet.com

Horizon: This small 5-door hatchback replaced the 1100 model (but as they both continued being made, I have kept the production numbers separate). It was the European Car of the Year in 1979. The car was stylish, economical and had a nice ride. The engine, gearbox and steering were criticised and they were prone to rust.

1307: Also known as the Alpine, this large 5-door hatchback won the European Car of the Year in 1976. It was roomy, had a comfy ride and again nice looking. Production started strongly but fell away rather quickly.

Rancho: The SUV model was made for Simca by Matra. It was a very practical leisure vehicle which proved popular, but the rattly engine was too small for it and corrosion was an issue.

160/180/2L: The engine size determined the numbers on this large 4-door car. It seemed to replace the 1300/1500 range but there was some overlap in production and the new model was never as popular. It was again a good looking car and drove well, but failed to take sales off other brands. A flop.

Summary: It was never going to be easy to establish a coherent Chrysler Europe, but how Chrysler went about it was a lesson in how not to do it. A lack of focus and committment guaranteed failure. Chrysler's push into Europe was over and the future of the company now rested with PSA.

Chrysler 180 picture: Anita Šerešová.

For others in the series, simply click on the dates: 1947-59, 1960-69, and 1980-87.