Volvo, a steel belt and 100 million pushbelts
DAF’s cars became Volvos and the Variomatic became “CVT”. Hub’s last idea, a belt made of steel, ended up in cars made by Ford, Fiat, Subaru and Nissan.
Volvo moves in
Wanting a smaller model, Volvo bought a 33 per cent stake in DAF’s car division in 1972. Volvo Cars The car factory was renamed DAF Car BV. Martijn Lak
1973 was the last year of growth. Sales slipped from over 26,000 in 1972 to 21,000 in 1975, with Japanese cars biting. Martijn Lak
On 1 January 1975 Volvo took 75 per cent of DAF’s car division. Martijn Lak
In 1975 DAF’s car division became Volvo Car BV. Volvo Cars
DAF had been advised to separate cars from lorries; the truck side carried on under its own name. DAF Club: history DAF Trucks has belonged to the American firm Paccar since 1996. Driven to Write
Volvo renamed the Variomatic CVT. DAF Club: history
AutoGids says Volvo assumed the transmission came with the factory, but a Dutch court ruled otherwise. AutoGids
The Volvo years
The Volvo 66 of 1975 was made in the Netherlands and developed from the DAF 66. Volvo Cars
The Volvo 343 was the car that should have been the DAF 77, developed by DAF as project P900. DAF Club: Volvo 343
Hagerty UK says Volvo sold more than 1.1 million 343s, 340s and 360s by 1991. Hagerty UK
Volvo kept building belt-driven cars until 1991, and the very last car of the 340 range was fitted with the CVT as a nod to its DAF roots. DAF Club: Volvo 340
Hub’s last invention
Hub stepped down in 1965, with a gift of a million guilders for the staff. Martijn Lak
Hemmings says that after retiring in 1965 Hub opened Van Doorne’s Transmissie to work on a second-generation Variomatic with tougher flexible steel belts. Hemmings
BHIC says this last invention, the Transmatic, was developed from 1965 and is still made. BHIC NRC says he started on it in the shed behind his house. NRC, 1995
When did Van Doorne’s Transmissie start? Sources differ
- Hemmings says that after retiring in 1965 Hub opened Van Doorne’s Transmissie to work on a second-generation Variomatic with tougher flexible steel belts. Hemmings
- Van Doorne’s Transmissie in Tilburg, founded in 1972 and bought by Bosch in 1995, made pushbelts for CVTs and reached 100 million of them in 2024. Bosch
- The Tilburg plant opened in 1972 to make the pushbelt, then still rubber, and switched to metal in the mid-1980s. Aftersales Magazine
Read together: Hub began work on the improved belt after retiring in 1965, and the Tilburg company and factory date from 1972.
Until 1987 mass production of the steel belts would not get going; the parts had to be accurate to a thousandth of a millimetre. NRC, 1995
The company survived only with support from the Dutch state. NRC, 1995
The Van Doorne family pulled out of the firm completely in 1982. NRC, 1995
Wim died on 3 May 1978 and Hub on 23 May 1979. Martijn Lak
Ford and Fiat, 1987
Ford, Fiat and Van Doorne worked on the steel-belt CTX from 1976, spending $120 million. Motor Sport, 1987
Motor Sport described its belt as 320 V-shaped links on two sets of steel bands. Motor Sport, 1987
Commercial Motor described the Fiat Uno Selecta’s belt as 300 blocks guided by two strips of 10 thin rings each. Commercial Motor, 1987
How many blocks in the belt? Sources differ
- Motor Sport described its belt as 320 V-shaped links on two sets of steel bands. Motor Sport, 1987
- Commercial Motor described the Fiat Uno Selecta’s belt as 300 blocks guided by two strips of 10 thin rings each. Commercial Motor, 1987
These describe the belts in two different cars, the Fiesta CTX and the Uno Selecta, so the counts need not clash.
Motor Sport found the CTX Fiesta pulled away without a pause, but needed more refinement, with a noticeable snatch just before stopping. Motor Sport, 1987
Subaru says its 1987 Justy had the world’s first electro-continuously variable transmission, ECVT. Subaru Canada
By 1995 Ford, Fiat and Fuji (Subaru) used the Van Doorne CVT, with Nissan, Lancia, Rover and Volvo to follow. NRC, 1995
Hemmings says Bosch bought the business, and names the Ford Festiva, Fiat Uno and Mercedes-Benz A-class among the users. Hemmings
Motor Sport’s 1987 report is about the Ford Fiesta CTX; Hemmings names the Ford Festiva, a different small Ford. We have not checked which Fords used it beyond those two sources.
Tests in Williams-Renault Formula One cars proved the idea, says NRC, but the FIA vetoed it. NRC, 1995 AutoRAI dates the Williams-Renault CVT experiments to 1993. AutoRAI
Bosch
Van Doorne’s Transmissie in Tilburg, founded in 1972 and bought by Bosch in 1995, made pushbelts for CVTs and reached 100 million of them in 2024. Bosch
Aftersales Magazine estimated in 2024 that one in four automatic transmissions worldwide is a CVT, most of them with a Bosch pushbelt. Aftersales Magazine
It noted that electric cars usually have no multi-speed gearbox at all. Aftersales Magazine
Bosch is moving production to Ho Chi Minh City by 2028, ending mass production in Tilburg. Bosch
Hemmings found CVTs in everything from the Toyota iQ to the Nissan Murano. Hemmings
Belt CVTs are common in snowmobiles, golf carts and scooters. Bill Vance
Remembered
DAF Club Nederland, founded in 1980, had more than 1,800 members keeping about 2,600 DAFs going in 2018. AutoRAI
In the US, owners formed the DAF Club of America in 1985, and a DAF museum opened in Mount Tabor, Vermont. Hagerty
About 62 DAF 600s were still registered in the Netherlands in 2023. DAF Club: 600
Timeline
- 1965 Hub stepped down in 1965, with a gift of a million guilders for the staff. Martijn Lak
- 1972 Wanting a smaller model, Volvo bought a 33 per cent stake in DAF’s car division in 1972. Volvo Cars The Tilburg plant opened in 1972 to make the pushbelt, then still rubber, and switched to metal in the mid-1980s. Aftersales Magazine
- 1 Jan 1975 On 1 January 1975 Volvo took 75 per cent of DAF’s car division. Martijn Lak
- 1976 Ford, Fiat and Van Doorne worked on the steel-belt CTX from 1976, spending $120 million. Motor Sport, 1987
- 1982 The Van Doorne family pulled out of the firm completely in 1982. NRC, 1995
- 1987 Subaru says its 1987 Justy had the world’s first electro-continuously variable transmission, ECVT. Subaru Canada
- 1991 Volvo kept building belt-driven cars until 1991, and the very last car of the 340 range was fitted with the CVT as a nod to its DAF roots. DAF Club: Volvo 340
- 1995 Van Doorne’s Transmissie in Tilburg, founded in 1972 and bought by Bosch in 1995, made pushbelts for CVTs and reached 100 million of them in 2024. Bosch
- 2024 Aftersales Magazine estimated in 2024 that one in four automatic transmissions worldwide is a CVT, most of them with a Bosch pushbelt. Aftersales Magazine
- By 2028 Bosch is moving production to Ho Chi Minh City by 2028, ending mass production in Tilburg. Bosch
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