A basic utility vehicle (BUV) is a simple rugged vehicle designed for use in the developing world. A slew of such vehicles were developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s; most only reached limited production and market penetration, as used Western vehicles often proved cheaper. In Southeast Asia, these are often referred to as Asian utility vehicles (AUV). They have also been called basic transportation vehicles (BTV).
The acronym has also been used by the Institute for Affordable Transportation (IAT), who currently holds annual competitions aimed at developing new such vehicles.
Greek financier Peter Kondorgouris began producing a small utility vehicle called the Farmobil, based on a 1957 design by Wilfried Fahr of Switzerland. Using BMW engines, about 1000 were built between 1962 and 1966. The Farco company was taken over by Chrysler in the mid-sixties and they took over distribution in many markets.
Basic utility vehicles were developed by Ford and GM specifically for sale in East Asia, with the intent of opening new markets there and in Africa. [1] Volkswagen also developed a vehicle, the EA489 Basistransporter which was built from 1975 until 1979. Dutch DAF developed a stillborn competitor for this field, the 1972 BATU (Basic Automotive Transport Unit) [2] General Motors' BTV effort was sold under a variety of different names and used the Vauxhall Viva's underpinnings and 1256 cc inline-four engine. It was built in Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Portugal, and the Philippines. It was marketed as the GM Amigo, Andino (Ecuador), Chato (Guatemala), Cherito (El Salvador), Compadre (Honduras), Mitaí (Paraguay), and Bedford Harimau ("Tiger", Malaysia).
Citroën's FAF and Baby Brousse also fit this mold, with the acronym FAF standing for "Easy to Finance, Easy to Build." The FAF and related versions entered production in ten countries, most of them in the developing world. Over 30,000 were built from 1973 until the 1980s. [3] Nissan called their Datsun 1200 AX a BTV, it was introduced in June 1977 and received their 1171 cc A12 engine. Nissan/Datsun built it in Thailand (Siam Motors) and in Portugal. [4] In Portugal it was called the Datsun Sado. The most successful BUV is arguably the Toyota Kijang, which entered production in Indonesia and the Philippines (as the Tamaraw) in 1977 and 1976. The Kijang/Tamaraw has, over five generations, morphed into a fairly luxurious Compact MPV called the Toyota Innova. It even spawned rivals in the Philippine market. Those include the Ford Fiera (later known as Nissan Bida), Isuzu KC 20, Mitsubishi Cimarron, and the GM Harabas (made by General Motors).
One thing that unites the various Basic Utility Vehicles of this era is that they used almost exclusively flat, welded sheetmetal, giving them a certain uniformity of appearance. Later yet, the independent, wood-bodied Africar project again tried to target developing markets, Africa in particular. Only six were built from 1986 until the company folded in 1988.
With the steady supply of lightly used vehicles from Western markets proving more desirable than the spartan BUVs, the BUV idea largely faded during the 1980s.
The Institute for Affordable Transportation (IAT) sponsor an annual BUV Design Competition where engineering students bring their vehicles for judging and performance evaluation (including cost) and contribute to IAT's research and development efforts. This is an effort to develop a simple, low-cost utility vehicle that can benefit low-income people in rural areas of developing countries.
Student teams design and build these vehicles to compete in a series of tests and events to determine the best design. Each team also plans an oral report aimed towards the judges and spectators. In the reports, students discuss the planning, building, and testing processes that each BUV went through prior to the competition. Because the BUV must account for a lack of infrastructure, the vehicles must pass a variety of tests during the competition including an obstacle course, mud pit, mogul field, and endurance track. Many of the students work on the BUV as a senior capstone project at the end of their engineering degree.
BUVs are designed around these specifications:
Datsun was a Japanese automobile manufacturer brand owned by Nissan. Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986, but relaunched it in June 2013 as the brand for low-cost vehicles manufactured for emerging markets. Nissan considered phasing out the Datsun brand for a second time in 2019 and 2020, eventually discontinuing the struggling brand in April 2022.
Nissan Motor Corporation, often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands, and formerly the Datsun brand, with in-house performance tuning products labelled Nismo. The company traces back to the beginnings of the 20th century, with the Nissan zaibatsu, now called Nissan Group.
The Nissan Violet is a model of car that appeared in Japan in 1973, and was exclusive to Japanese Nissan dealerships called Nissan Cherry Store as a larger companion to the Nissan Cherry.
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The Nissan S130 is a sports coupé produced by Nissan in Japan from 1978 until 1983. It was sold as the Datsun 280ZX, Nissan Fairlady Z and Nissan Fairlady 280Z, depending on the market. In Japan, it was exclusive to Nissan Bluebird Store locations. It was the second generation Z-car, replacing the Nissan Fairlady Z (S30) in late 1978. The 280ZX was the first time the "by Nissan" subscript was badged alongside the Datsun logo, along with Nissan trucks. The 280ZX was Motor Trend's import car of the year for 1979. The 280ZX was replaced by the Nissan 300ZX in 1984.
The Nissan Sunny is an automobile built by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1966 to 2006. In the early 1980s, the brand changed from Datsun to Nissan in line with other models by the company. Although production of the Sunny in Japan ended in 2006, the name remains in use in China and GCC countries for a rebadged version of the Nissan Almera.
The Datsun Sports, was a series of roadsters produced by Nissan in the 1960s. The series was a predecessor to the Z-car in the Fairlady line, and offered a competitor to the European MG, Triumph, Fiat and Alfa Romeo sports cars. Beginning with the 1959 S211, the line was built in two generations: the first generation was largely handbuilt in small numbers, while the second generation was series produced. The second generation first appeared in 1961 and continued through 1970 with the SP311 and SR311 lines.
The Nissan Vanette is a cabover van and pickup truck produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1978 until 2011. The first two generations were engineered by Nissan's Aichi Manufacturing Division for private, personal ownership, with the last two generations built by Mazda, rebadged as Nissans and refocused as commercial vehicles, based on the Mazda Bongo. The van has also been sold as the Nissan Sunny-Vanette or Nissan Van. The private purchase passenger platform was replaced by the Nissan Serena in 1991, renamed Vanette in various international markets, and came equipped with multiple engine and drivetrain configurations.
The Toyota Kijang is a series of pickup trucks, multi purpose vehicles and light commercial vehicles sold mainly in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and India by Toyota. It was first introduced in Indonesia in 1977 and had become the most popular car in the country of its time. The same vehicle was introduced earlier in the Philippines as the Toyota Tamaraw, where it was launched in December 1976. Fourth-generation models in the Philippines were sold under the Toyota Revo nameplate. The Kijang was also sold in other countries, and is known as the Toyota Qualis in India and Nepal, Toyota Zace in Vietnam and Taiwan, Toyota Unser in Malaysia and Toyota Stallion in Africa for the basic models, with higher specifications labelled Toyota Venture and Toyota Condor in South Africa. Due to the varying names used in different countries, the vehicle is internally known as the "TUV", short for "Toyota Utility Vehicle".
BTV may refer to:
The Citroën FAF is a small utility vehicle produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1973 until 1981. It was built using a combination of imported and locally sourced components in various developing countries. The body was made of easy to produce, folded steel panels, giving an appearance resembling a metal-bodied version of the Méhari. The flat metal panels and simple components were meant to allow for easier production, mostly in developing countries.
The Nissan L series of automobile engines was produced from 1966 through 1986 in both inline-four and inline-six configurations ranging from 1.3 L to 2.8 L. It is a two-valves per cylinder SOHC non-crossflow engine, with an iron block and an aluminium head. It was the engine of the Datsun 510, Datsun 240Z sports car, and the Nissan Maxima. These engines are known for their reliability, durability, and parts interchangeability.
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The Nissan J series are straight-4 and straight-6 gasoline internal combustion engines produced by Nissan from the 1960s through the 1980s. It is similar to the BMC B-Series engine that was built in Japan under licence as the Nissan 1H before being de-stroked to become the 1.0 L Nissan C and 1.2 L Nissan E engines, but wasn't a direct copy.
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The Bedford HA was a car derived van introduced in 1963 by Bedford, based on the Vauxhall Viva (HA) family car. It was also known as the Bedford Beagle in estate form and Bedford Roma in small campervan form. The Beagle was an officially sanctioned conversion based on the 8 cwt van, carried out by Martin Walter of Folkestone, Kent. The Beagle received rear side windows and a fold-down rear seat; leaving 28 inches (710 mm) of luggage space with the seat in use.
The Institute for Affordable Transportation (IAT) is a non-profit organization located in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The IAT is devoted to developing high-quality, low-cost transportation to provide mobility, freedom and economic hope to people in rural areas of developing countries. This involves a class of transportation known as a Basic Utility Vehicle (BUV). BUV's are designed to provide mobility, freedom and economic hope to people in rural areas of developing countries. The BUV can promote trade and sustainable development by allowing micro-business growth and trade at a grassroots level.
Delta Motor Corporation was an automobile company from the Philippines established by Ricardo C. Silverio, Sr. It operated under a technical tie-up with Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan, but also produced its own range of small off-roaders called the "Delta Mini Cruiser". Delta was founded in 1962 and continued to be Toyota's local assembler and distributor until 1984.
PT Toyota-Astra Motor is an automobile trading company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is a joint venture company between Toyota Motor Corporation and Astra International with a distribution of shares of 50% and 50% respectively, acting as a sole agent, distributor, and importer of Toyota vehicles. It has been the best-selling car brand in Indonesia every year in a row since 1997.
The automotive industry in the Philippines is the 9th largest in the Asia-Pacific region, with approximately 273.4 thousand vehicles sold in 2019. Most of the vehicles sold and built in the Philippines are from foreign brands. For the most part, the Philippines is dominated by Japanese automobile manufacturers like most of its ASEAN neighbors. The automobile production in the country is covered under the Philippine Motor Vehicle Development Program implemented by the Board of Investments. In addition, there are also a small number of independent firms who assemble and fabricate jeepneys and other similar vehicles, using surplus engines and drivetrain parts mostly from Japan.