This Plymouth Duster Was the DHL’s First Delivery Car

Three young men and an two-door Plymouth Duster formed the humble beginnings of DHL.

How did it all start? In 1969, just a few months after Neil Armstrong took the first step on the moon, Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom, and Robert Lynn created a completely new industry by introducing the door-to-door express delivery service. They founded the company DHL – the three letters stand for the initials of their last names. Their extraordinary determination contributed to their success, as well as … the Plymouth Duster they were driving at that time!

Their mission was straight forward: The team would drive themselves around the streets of San Francisco collecting paper documents, hop on a commercial flight to Honolulu and hand-deliver to their customers.
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This entrepreneurial spirit was shared by family and friends, who helped the company to expand its services across borders to new territories.

A lot has changed in the DHL fleet since 1969. What started with Plymouth Duster whose unmatched doors later were salvaged from a junkyard has developed into a huge fleet. The company has grown from a small team of three founders and one car to company with more than 120,000 employees, more than 250 proprietary aircraft and 32,000 vehicles.

Over five decades, DHL has become a global company with the founders’ three initials now an iconic brand known far and wide across the world.