The History of Daimler Transport Vehicles started in in 1898. Its business started with steam powered cars. In 1920s, it started to build charabanc and bus chassis. In the beginning of 1930s, it developed a preselective transmission to buses. It reduced the number of controls so that the bus drivers recruited from former tram-driving staff liked it very much. In the end of 1942, the Ministry of War Transport ordered 500 Leyland Titans to provide emergency transport for operators hard hit by shortages of spare parts and skilled fitters. The buses were to be given utility bodies, but before Leyland could start production, it was instructed to give up its share and Daimler was called upon to fulfill the order. After the war, Daimler had all its models fitted with preselective gearboxes in municipal buses. It also had a very successful export market in Asia, especially in Hong Kong and India. Kowloon Motor Bus of Hong Kong liked CVG5 and CVG6s with Gardner engines since the later part of the 1940s. The bus operators in India, say Bombay Electric Supply and Transport, favoured double deckers with fluid flywheel and Wilson gearboxes since 1930s.

In the late 1950s, Daimler produced a very successful and remarkable model, the Fleetline. It has earned a good reputation since 1961. In 1968, Daimler was bought by British Leyland Motors Corporation. Unlike other factories in the group, the name "Daimler" has been remained up till now, although its bus production ended when the last fleetlines were built in 1982.

Let us look at Daimler's designation to its chassis, which had been used for many years. Chassis were denoted by a single code. C for "chassis", R for "rear engined" or V for "vertical engined", A for "AEC" engine, D for "Daimler"engine, "G" for "Gardner"engine or L for "Leyland" engine, "6" for number of cylinders, followed by and oblique and an overall length in foot.

Daimler COG5 (India)

Daimler CVG5 (Hong Kong)

Daimler CVD6 (United Kingdom)

Daimler CVG6 (Hong Kong, Malta)

Daimler Fleetline (Hong Kong, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States)

Daimler Freeline (New Zealand)

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Page created: 31 May 1999

Last updated: 24 January 2018