The Company began trading in 1896, in Bulawayo as a Bicycle Dealer. In 1911 the Company was appointed as a “Dealer” for Ford Motor Product in what was then Northern and Southern Rhodesia. Ford Motor Company established an assembly plant in Salisbury (now Harare) for the supply of vehicles to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Southern Rhodesia ( now Zimbabwe) using the Duly Motors Network in both countries. The assembly plant was taken over by the Industrial Development Corporation when Ford Motor Company withdrew from the Country after the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965. The Plant is the present day Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries.
In 1980, Duly’s re-established ties with the Ford Motor Company, dealing in Motor vehicles, Tractors, Combine Harvesters and other Agricultural equipment. However in the latter part of the 1990’s Ford decided to dispose of its Agricultural operations Worldwide to Fiat of Italy. Locally, Duly’s in turn sold its Agricultural Division to William Bain who represented Fiat.