[1][2] Pires and José Megre became business partners when they decided to create a motor vehicle assembly production line, under the name "Projecto Portaro."
Large loans of Portuguese-state funds were granted to start this joint-venture automobile plan.
Initially the GV-Garagem Vitoria, one of the main domestic Motor Car importers, were to collect and receive the ARO vehicles from Romania at the docks in CKD form.
Here several 4X4 prototype models were built in 1975, all with different running gear fitted for testing in all kinds of environment and treatment.
The motor vehicle production was officially started by the recently formed SEMAL company.