Dodge 50

Dodge 50 with a refrigerated truck body for "Benna" milk in Malta

Renault Dodge 50 "B56" (5,600 kg) with double cab and box, formerly from British Gas , at work for an aid convoy in Yugoslavia

The Dodge 50 , later Renault 50 , was a range of light trucks manufactured by Chrysler Europe under the name Dodge in Great Britain . Renault Véhicules Industriels (RVI), formerly part of the Renault group and now part of Volvo , later took over production. The series was offered in the model years 1979 to 1993.

The 50 Series was available in a variety of chassis and body combinations - including two completely different driver's cabs - with a gross vehicle weight of 3.5 to 7.5 t. Various engines were offered, including the Perkins Phaser; there was also an all-wheel drive version . Body builders offered a variety of bodies, including dump trucks and minibuses .

Many vehicles were delivered as chassis with a driver's cab and then fitted with box bodies; such wagons were widely used by transport companies in Great Britain. They were also often equipped with compressors or generators. Slowly, however, the popularity of these vehicles declined, especially because of the unreliability when additional units were connected to the vehicle drive. (The vehicles themselves had no problems with reliability!) Today, transport companies prefer smaller vehicles with attached generators. The all-wheel drive version was used by the British Army as it was one of the few trucks in this size class made in the country and it could carry significantly more weapons and equipment than even the largest Land Rover .

Chrysler was backed by the UK government trying to help the ailing British Motor Industry . Chrysler, however, had its hands full getting back on the profit track, as it had inherited a number of problematic car and truck brands (and factories) from Rootes , namely Commer and Karrier , as well as various French operations. In 1978 Chrysler gave up its European activities completely and sold them to Peugeot . The cars and vans were offered under the brand name Talbot .

Peugeot, however, had little interest in the trucks and the factory for heavier models was operated together with Renault Véhicules Industriels (RVI), which was looking for a British production facility for their own models. The 50 series was continued, as was the small Dodge (formerly Commer) Spacevan and the larger 100 series . During this transition phase there were vehicles that still had the Dodge designation, but also the Renault rhombus.

In 1987 the 50 series was revised and now uniformly referred to as the Renault 50 . The name Dodge no longer existed in Great Britain. (Chrysler kept its Dodge division in the USA and reintroduced American Dodge models in the UK in 2006). Renault manufactured the 50 Series until 1993, but it was never a huge success, partly because it had to compete with other Renault products like the Master , which Renault much preferred to export.

In 1994 Renault, which the factory now needed for large engine production, sold the press tools for the 50 series to a Chinese manufacturer.

Series 50 vehicles are still occasionally seen on the roads in Great Britain; often they were provided with a living room or workshop structure. There are also some still used as horse transporters and some are still in the army. In order to maintain the vehicles, the owners have formed interest groups (see web links).

Web links

Commons : Dodge 50 series - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Commons : Renault 50 - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files