Grand Vehicle Works Holdings Corp., parent company of Autocar LLC, has announced the purchase of the former Dana manufacturing plant in Hagerstown, IN, for Autocar's new world headquarters and truck-manufacturing facility. Full production is scheduled to begin by July 2003.

Located between Indianapolis and Dayton, OH, the facility will accommodate Autocar's assembly equipment and its newly purchased operating systems.

"Our Autocar management team has worked very hard to locate a world-class production facility that will meet our long-term manufacturing needs and accommodate our aggressive growth plans," Bob Enright, Autocar president, said. "Hagerstown clearly meets our criteria."

Autocar LLC was formed in July 2001, when parent company Grand Vehicle Works Corp. purchased the Autocar name and the Xpeditor truck line from Volvo Trucks North America Inc.

Autocar, which began manufacturing in 1897, is the oldest vehicle nameplate in continuous production in the United States. The company produced its first commercial vehicle in 1908.