Namco (automobiles)
Encyclopedia
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
vehicle manufacturer, a creation of the Kontogouris Brothers who have been in the automotive industry business since the 1950s.
History
The first efforts of the Kontogouris Brothers involved building light trucks called Hellas in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In 1957 Petros Kontogouris acquired rights to a production technology of a multi-purpose vehicle developed by Dr. Wilfried Fahr, who founded an engineering company in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In 1961 Kontogouris created their first company (FARCO) in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
to produce the vehicle, called FARMOBIL, with BMW 700
BMW 700
The BMW 700 was a small rear-engined car produced by BMW in various models from August 1959 to November 1965. It was the first BMW automobile with a monocoque structure. The 700 was a sales success at a time when BMW was close to financial ruin...
flat-2 engine. Ironically, this smart vehicle was not certified for the Greek market and all production was exported, to several countries around the world. In 1963 the company was acquired by Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
who renamed it Chrysler Hellas S.A. In 1967 production in Greece was stopped by the U.S. company, and was transferred to other countries. Meanwhile, in 1961 ambitious plans were made by the Kontogouris Brothers for a new company (to be called NAMCO) with a new factory in Patras
Patras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
to produce under licence a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-designed (Neckar
Neckar (car)
Neckar was a German automobile manufacturer which produced Fiat and Autobianchi vehicles under license in Heilbronn from 1957 to 1971.- History :...
) three-wheeler truck and other vehicles, but were not materialized.
NAMCO would resurface in 1972, when a light passenger-utility vehicle called the Pony was introduced in the Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
Trade Fair, after an agreement was signed with Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
. The car, whose original design (Baby-Brousse
Baby-Brousse
The Baby-Brousse is a Citroën 2CV based buggy. The car is like a metal-bodied Citroën Méhari and is similar in concept to the French Citroën FAF. The vehicle was a success with more than 31,000 being built from 1963 to 1987...
) was created by a team of French engineers in the Ivory Coast on a 2CV platform, had been adopted by Citroën itself as part of "basic world car" project that eventually led to the Citroën FAF
Citroën FAF
The Citroën FAF is a small open-top automobile produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1973 until 1979, built and sold in various developing and Third World countries....
(the Pony and other similar cars preceded the FAF and were not derived from it, as is often erroneously reported). Indeed, cars on the same basis were produced around the world from Vietnam to Portugal, but the Pony became by far the most successful. In 1974 NAMCO started business officially and production started in a new plant in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
. The Pony (also called Pony-Citroën), helped by a law giving tax breaks for light utility-passenger vehicles became an instant success, being the cheapest car in the market and, at the same time, an incredibly robust and practical automobile (about half a dozen Greek companies would follow NAMCO's example, with similar contraptions, none of which, though, came close to Pony's success). The car was greatly modernized (including Dyane 6 components) and a large number of versions and facelifts followed, keeping it up to standards. Almost 30,000 Pony's were produced, while exports to many countries around the world (a few were even exported to the U.S.) were made, "helped" by the Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
logo on the vehicle.
ELBO
ELBO , is a Greek vehicle manufacturer based in Thessaloniki...
) for its supplies in that period.
The first generation Pony (Pony-Citroën) was produced until 1983; in the meanwhile, the law concerning taxation of similar vehicles had been modified. Plans to manufacture other cars under licence were not realized and for a moment it seemed that NAMCO would once more be out of business. But the company would bounce back, introducing a completely new model, the Pony Super
Namco Pony Super
The Pony Super was a car built by NAMCO, a Greek vehicle manufacturer, between 1985 and 1992. It represented an effort by this company to produce a successor to its first generation Pony , following the same principle of a versatile, cheap vehicle that could form a basis for several versions for...
, introduced in 1985. The second generation Pony had no connection with Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
technology and was a much more modern car with Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
engines, coming in a number of versions (950 cc 45 hp, 1100 cc 55 hp, 1300 cc 69 hp and 1600 cc 54 hp diesel, in two- and four-door arrangements). It was essentially developed by NAMCO , since Inthelco, a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
company also involved in its development, was majority-owned by NAMCO at the time. An ambitious plan was made to export the car to the U.S. with a 1900 cc engine via Inthelco as the Desta at a rate of 20,000 per year. However, the costs and prospects proved to be grossly miscalculated and the plan was abandoned. No matter how improved the new Pony was, it was still a far cry from the needs of the contemporary Greek market made of progressively more affluent and demanding consumers. Only a few hundred Pony Super's were built until 1992.
Once more, though, the company created one more chance for rebirth, as its founders were stubbornly attached to the car-making business. So, although they also diversified into imports and trade of vehicles keeping NAMCO alive, they transformed the company into a technology exporter, offering design and construction of vehicle producing miniplants (as an antidote, they argued, to the giant conglomerates created by globalism) together with the Pony and their 4x4 truck technology. In 1994, the first Pony Supers produced under licence in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
came out of the assembly plant in that country.
NAMCO is still alive today, although a shadow of its former self. Production of the Pony Super and the trucks never "officially" ended, as the company maintains a factory able to resume production. Actually, a "third-generation" Pony (in reality a Pony Super with minor improvements) was introduced in 2003. Company focus, nonetheless, as was the case with many similar Greek companies, has decisively shifted towards trade and services.
Company:Farco
- Farmobil advanced multi-purpose vehicle (designed by Dr. W. Fahr), 1961-1967.
Company:NAMCO (initial planned establishment)
- Three-wheeler truck, (NeckarNeckar (car)Neckar was a German automobile manufacturer which produced Fiat and Autobianchi vehicles under license in Heilbronn from 1957 to 1971.- History :...
licence), 1961: production planned to have started by mid-1960s but not materialized.
Company:NAMCO (proper operation)
- Pony-Citroën light passenger-utility automobile (CitroënCitroënCitroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
licence), 1974-1983: produced in a large number of variants and several facelifts and improvements. - Agricar agricultural 4x4 and 6x6 truck, 1978-(theoretically to date)
- Milicar military 4x4 and 6x6 truck based on the Agricar, 1978-(theoretically to date)
- Pyrcar 4x4 fire-fighting vehicle based on the Agricar, 1978-(theoretically to date)
- Multi-Trac, 4x4 multi-purpose vehicle based on the Agricar, 1978-(theoretically to date)
- Panther light military 4x4 vehicle, introduced 1980 (similar to the French Lohr FardierLohr FardierThe Lohr Fardier is a French light general purpose 4x4 vehicle, capable of being transported by air, developed by Lohr Industrie for use by airborne troops.- History :...
but actually a different design): only 2 were produced. - Tiger 4x4Namco Tiger Armored VehicleThe Tiger 4x4 Armored Reconnaissance Scout Vehicle was one of several vehicles proposed to the Hellenic Army by Namco, a Greek vehicle manufacturer...
armored wheeled military vehicle, proposed 1982: designed, but prototype not completed. - Aquilles armoured wheeled fighting vehicle, based on the Milicar, proposed 1982: design not completed.
- 4x4 jeep-type military vehicle, proposed 1985: design not completed.
- Licence built variant of Daihatsu Wildcat, proposed 1985: not built.
- Pony Super series, completely redesigned passenger-utility automobile, 1985-(theoretically to date): built in a large number of variants and models with different engines.