Automotive industry in Spain
Foreign makers started to set up local assembly plants supplied with imported parts in the 1920s, with Ford Motor Ibérica opening its Cádiz premises in 1920[3] and General Motors Peninsular in Málaga in 1927.
[5] The devastation of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) interrupted this development, and the decade of economic isolation that followed made it very difficult for it to resume.
In the mid 1940s, a number of home-grown companies started to emerge, led by Enasa, a state-owned conglomerate built around the remains of Hispano-Suiza, with brands like Pegaso or Sava.
SEAT is the sole active Spanish mass production car company (today operating as a subsidiary of Volkswagen) that develops its own models in-house.
Models produced between 1990 and 2007 include the Arosa, León, Córdoba, Toledo, Alhambra and the Altea.
In 2008 the company introduced the 1.4-litre, 170 hp (127 kW) Bocanegra (4th generation Ibiza) concept car.
The Cordoba, which ran between 1993 and 2008, was the saloon version of the second and third generation Ibiza hatchbacks, and was slightly more popular than the earlier Malaga.
The Alhambra was SEAT's first MPV, launched in 1996 and based on the Volkswagen Sharan and Ford Galaxy.
The Leon, launched in 1999, was a small family hatchback aimed at the likes of the Ford Focus and Opel Astra.
Until the mid 1980s, SEAT cars were rarely seen outside Spain, but have since become popular in many export markets, including Britain, where sales began in the autumn of 1985.
The Authi Car Company, which was formed in 1965, was the result of a collaboration agreement between Nueva Montana Quijano and the British Motor Corporation.
In the late 1940s Gabriel Voisin (French) designed a small car called the Biscooter.
In 1909 Arturo Elizalde Rouvier started a company was called "Sociedad Mercantil J. M. Vallet y Cia" to manufacturer car parts.
A 5,181 cc straight-eight Gran Sport version of the Tipo 48 model, capable of 100 mph (160 km/h), was also produced.
The cars were in many ways advanced for the time, as they had all-wheel independent suspension, a five-speed gearbox, very powerful supercharged engines, and were offered with the choice of Touring, Saoutchik, Serra or Enasa's own luxury bodies.
The first Eucort model, which was based on a pre World War II Germany Dampf Kraft Wagen (DKW) design, was fitted with 764 cc twin-cylinder two-stroke engine.
By the end of 1903 this company went bankrupt, re-emerging in 1904 as "La Hispano-Suiza Fábrica de Automóviles".
In 1911 a factory called "Hispano France" was established just outside Paris, moving to another location in 1914, when they took the name "Hispano-Suiza".
The first model was a three-wheeled two-door car that was powered by a 125 cc single-cylinder two-stroke engine.
Other models include the Chiqui, a three-wheeler with single wheel at the rear, the Platillo Volante, a four-wheel coupé and the M190 with miniature Mercedes 190 body.
Spain has the largest number of independent coachbuilders in Europe, producing bespoke models for the international market.
[7] Contrary to the large European bus manufacturers, who build their buses as standard models on an integral chassis, most Spanish manufacturers build a bodywork on a chassis supplied by a third party, allowing for a large variety of designs.
As of December 2017, active coachbuilders include: Many foreign car and truck makers - like Volkswagen, Nissan, Daimler AG, Ford, Renault, Stellantis, Iveco etc.
- as well as suppliers have facilities and plants in Spain today developing and producing vehicles and components, not only for the needs of the internal market but also for exportation purposes,[17] with the contribution of the automobile industry in 2008 rising up to the second place with 17,6% out of the country's total exports.
The Escort and Orion were also built there in the 1980s and 1990s, as was the Ka from 1996 until 2008, when production of its successor was switched to the Fiat factory in Poland.
General Motors Europe opened a new factory at Zaragoza in 1982, for production of its new Corsa supermini - which was imported to the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Nova.
PSA Peugeot Citroën then merged with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to form Stellantis in 2021.
Volkswagen has concentrated production of its Polo supermini at SEAT's Pamplona plant since it bought the company in 1986.
All versions of the SEAT Ibiza produced since 1993 have featured the same floorpan and engines as the Volkswagen Polo of that generation.
It built several model ranges for the passenger car and commercial vehicle markets, the most recent addition being the Pulsar family hatchback in 2014.
