[7] It manufactured various comparable models, which were enormously popular among Spanish farmers and ranchers, and exported many to South America, North Africa and the Middle East, always with the authorisation of the British licensee, which had been unable to meet the demand of these regions.

The arrival on the market of new off-road models and a certain technological obsolescence led Santana to seek international alliances, which were found in 1985 with the Japanese brand Suzuki.

In 1995, the Junta de Andalucía bought the entirety of the company from Suzuki; but this nationalisation of Santana quickly led to great financial difficulties, and by 2001 it registered losses of over €300 million.

However, the consistent and ever-growing decline in Santana's sales and its financial losses of €42 million by 2010 led to a vote within the company's workers to disband Santa Motor once and for all.

[citation needed] Their similarity to the scarce original Land Rover-series cars and their longevity have made Santanas desirable amongst collectors and an icon of four-by-four vehicles.

[citation needed] The company was founded as "Metalúrgica de Santa Ana, SA" and originally manufactured agricultural equipment.

The company was set up with a start up of just 3 million pesetas, following a drive by the Spanish government in 1954 who were offering start-up incentives to local businesses to encourage development in the Andalucia region of Southern Spain.

Apart from minor details (electric system, rear tailgate) the Spanish built Land Rover were identical to their Solihull counterparts and their quality was comparable.

Because of the harsh working lives vehicles endured in these environments, customer feedback on the range meant that Santana were often far more aware of each model's failings than the Land Rover company itself was.

In October 2005, Santana Motor and Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica agreed to launch a joint industrial project for the manufacture of components for renewable energy equipment at the Linares plant.

Subsequently, in June 2007, the Daniel Alonso Group of Avilés and Santana agreed to start up a joint industrial project for the manufacture of wind towers in various production centres in Spain, including that of Linares.

The new company, Windar, built a plant in Linares with a total surface area of 10,000 square meters, which was used for the assembly of sections of towers for Gamesa's latest generation wind turbines.

Likewise, this agreement represented the establishment in Andalusia for the first time of a large company dedicated, among other activities, to the design, manufacture and maintenance of wind turbines.

In 2008 FIAT-Iveco announced that it had signed an option to buy Andalusian government-owned Santana Motor, depending on the success of the Massif.