ACMA was founded on 25 November 1950 as Ateliers de construction de motocycles et accessoires in Fourchambault, near

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is remembered for the production of scooters and

micro car Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are ofte ...

Scooters

Production started in February 1951 with 20 workers building 200 scooters. In April 1953, the th completed

Vespa Vespa () is an Italian brand of scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy, to a ...

left the ACMA works. In 1954, production of the 150,000th Vespa was celebrated. It was also in 1954 that the company modified its name to Ateliers de construction de motocycles et d'automobiles.

Micro cars

At the Paris Salon in 1957 the

Vespa 400 The Vespa 400 is a rear-engined microcar, produced by ACMA (Ateliers de construction de motocycles et d'automobiles), ACMA in Fourchambault, France, from 1957 until 1961 to the designs of the Italian Piaggio company. Three different versions were ...

was presented and production started the same year in the ACMA factory. From 1957 until 1961 the company manufactured approximately micro cars under licence from

Piaggio Piaggio Group () is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under five brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Derbi. Its corporate headquarters are ...

. The growth of the business involved an increase in employment, with the headcount peaking at approximately 2,800 in 1958. This had a major impact on the local economy, as the population of Fourchambault reached 6,242 in 1958, triggering the construction in the little town of an additional 200 homes along with a kindergarten and a primary school. By launching its microcars the company tried to compensate for the general slump in scooter sales throughout continental Europe, but it turned out that the micro cars could not compete successfully with rivals such as Citroens 2 CV and the

Renault 4 The Renault 4, or R4 in short (and 4L, pronounced "Quatrelle" in French ), is an economy car built by the French company Renault from 1961 to 1994. Although the Renault 4 was first marketed as a short estate or wagon, its minimal rear o ...

. Inventory of unsold vehicles began to build up and production had to be slowed down. ACMA production ceased completely with the closure of the little factory on 31 December 1962.

References

External links

* French companies established in 1950 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1950 French brands Automotive companies of France Scooter manufacturers Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France Car manufacturers of France Companies based in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté {{france-company-stub