Automotive industry in Serbia
Until 1941, the factory in Kragujevac produced 400 Chevrolet military trucks and the automotive section of the Zastava industrial complex employed 12,000 workers.
However, besides the imports, Yugoslavia offered a large variety of domestic cars built for diverse tastes and necessities.
[3] Meantime, in Slovenian seaport town of Koper on the Adriatic, in 1984, local factory Tomos and French manufacturer Citroën created a joint-venture named Cimos.
In a process in which Yugoslav president Tito polemically dislocated most of the surviving Serbian industrial centers into Croatia and Bosnia thus even further weakening the Serbian economy, these other republics took advantage to recover, and in case of Bosnia, specifically regarding the automotive industry, it was with the direct initiative from president Tito that obligated one successful company, PRETIS, to become involved in car production, since they already dealt with aluminium and other metals.
Around 15.000 of this cars were made, when Volkswagen took charge of the mother company, and used the advantage and the facilities which Yugoslav government were giving them.
[3] In 1953, at the centenary of the company, Zastava signed a contract with Italian manufacturer FIAT to start the production of several models under licence, including trucks, passenger cars, tractors and heavy-duty vehicles.
All in all, Zastava produced over 4 million vehicles between 1953 and 2001, and exported to 74 countries, making Kragujevac the center of the automotive industry of Serbia and the entire Yugoslav federation.
However, the facilities of the Zastava industrial complex were heavily damaged during the NATO bombing of FR Yugoslavia in 1999.
Second-biggest manufacturer IMV manufactured Renaults (replacing original Western partners Austin,[4] NSU and BMW) in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, Tvornica Automobila Sarajevo (TAS) built Volkswagens in Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cimos built Citroëns in Koper, Slovenia, and fifth-placed IDA assembled Opels.
[6] There was also a brief attempt by a company called Invest-Metali to assemble Peugeots in Pristina, Kosovo, starting with 750 cars delivered in 1985.
[5] In 1984, fully built-up imports from the West (excluding locally assembled cars) represented less than 4 percent of the market.
Although Japanese manufacturers Toyota and then Mitsubishi both entered the market on a limited scale in the first half of the 1980s, nearly all Western imports were of European brands.
Also, the production of engine components, mostly cast, is very significant, along with forged and machined parts like camshafts, brake discs, valves and flywheels.
In 1952 Fabrika automobila Priboj (FAP) was founded and a year later the first trucks were produced based on a licence from Saurer.
The JV extensively renovated and remodeled the former headquarters facility and assembly plant of Zastava Automobiles, and now manufactures the Fiat 500L,[11][12] with an annual capacity of 85,000 cars (as of 2016).
However, during the 1950s most of the personal and infrastructure of the aircraft factory were relocated to SOKO, and since then Ikarus has focused completely on bus production, first under licence, originally with Saurer and MAN designs, and later with the company's own.
The production was ended due to the start of the Yugoslav Wars and the imposition of UN economic sanctions to FR Yugoslavia.
In 2008, Zastava's headquarters and assembly facilities were extensively renovated and modernized when they were assumed in a joint venture with the Republic of Serbia and Fiat, eventually becoming FCA Srbija.
