Associated Equipment Company

The Associated Equipment Company, generally known as AEC, was a British vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Southall, west London, that built buses, motorcoaches and trucks from 1912 until 1979. It was set up as a separate manufacturing arm when the Underground Group took control of the London General Omnibus Company, and during the First World War it became Britain's most prolific lorry manufacturer, supplying vehicles for the war effort. In the Second World War AEC built about 10,000 military vehicles between 1941 and 1944, including the widely used Matador artillery tractor. After the war AEC became known for iconic models such as the Routemaster double decker bus, alongside a range of commercial lorries sold under the AEC name and, in Latin American and Spanish speaking markets, the ACLO brand. Leyland Motors acquired its parent company, Associated Commercial Vehicles, in 1962, and British Leyland closed the Southall factory in 1979, ending AEC's history as a vehicle builder.