As a result, Edwin believed the future of the lorry-building industry lay in diesel engine power; the Foden boardroom did not agree, and consequently he resigned, along with his son Dennis.

With the help of Dennis and two former colleagues, including Ernest Sherratt, who became chief engineer, Edwin built the first ERF diesel lorry in 1933, and gave the first chassis the number 63, which was his age.

However, when recession came in the beginning of the 1980s, and production fell from a total output of 4,000 chassis per annum, CFE was sold to management to eventually become Saxon Sanbec.

[6] Fraud was later discovered to have occurred at ERF, and its financial position had been incorrectly stated, with MAN winning a legal case against Freightliner.

[7][8] Freightliner, in turn, tried to sue Western Star and ERF's former auditors Ernst & Young, but failed on the grounds of corporate negligence.

[11] With ERF badging used for only the market in the United Kingdom, MAN decided to cease supplying ERF-badged trucks from July 2007 onwards.