The Eurostar Automobilwerk GesmbH & Co. KG is a former subsidiary of the automotive corporation
DaimlerChrysler. It was established in 1990, and it mainly produced
Chrysler automobiles at the factory located in
Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
-
Liebenau,
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. In 2002, it was incorporated into
Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co. KG. The factory area covered 221,180 square metres.
Plant history
The company was founded on 13 February 1990 as a 50/50
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
between the
Chrysler Corporation and the
Steyr-Daimler-Puch Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co. KG. The construction of the new plant began in March. It was built by the construction company consortium of
Ed. Ast & Co. Baugesellschaft mbH and
Universale Bau AG. After 19 months the construction work was completed and the installation of the assembly line began. The series production of
Chrysler Voyager and the
Chrysler Grand Voyager was initiated at the opening ceremony of
Lee Iacocca on 29 April 1992. After a successful launch, a second shift began to work. In March 1995, the 100,000th Chrysler Voyager rolled off the assembly line. In November, a
new generation was introduced. New robots and more automation improved the processing quality of the vehicles. The following year, the company began with the mass production of right-hand drive vehicles. The maximum annual production capacity of the plant was at 55,000 vehicles. In 1998, DaimlerChrysler decided to buy the plant and incorporates it into the group as one of its subsidiaries.
In late 1999, the construction of a plant expansion started. The expansion lasted over a year and covered a new area of 7,000 m
2. The extension was necessary to enable the planned assembly of diesel motorized units of the new Chrysler PT Cruiser. Approximately 600 new jobs were created. The company has invested a sum of
€58 million for the expansion. At the same time a modification of the assembly line for the Voyagers was done. The assembly of the
fourth generation Voyager started in January 2001, and that of the
Chrysler PT Cruiser and
Chrysler PT Cruiser Cabrio in July.
But the Austrian assembly of the PT Cruisers was too expensive, so the DaimlerChrysler concern decided in December to end this as quickly as possible. Per vehicle, the Austrian assembly was
US $2000 more expensive than would have been the case in
Toluca,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. After that there were the first discussions to sell the plant. So the assembly of the PT Cruisers ended after a year and the completion of 50,000 units.
On 29 February 2002, the company was purchased by
Magna International Inc. at an Annual General Meeting of Chrysler in
Auburn Hills,
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. After the assembly of the last PT Cruiser, the company was dissolved by its new owner. Since that time, the former Eurostar plant has been a part of the
Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co. KG.
Models produced
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Chrysler Voyager GH (Apr 1992 – Sep 1995)
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Chrysler Grand Voyager ES (Apr 1992 – Sep 1995)
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Chrysler Caravan GS (Nov 1995 – Dec 2000)
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Chrysler Grand Caravan GH (Nov 1995 – Dec 2000)
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Chrysler Voyager GS (Nov 1995 – Dec 2000)
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Chrysler Grand Voyager GH (Nov 1995 – Dec 2000)
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Chrysler Caravan RG (Jan 2001 – Jul 2002)
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Chrysler Grand Caravan GK & GY (Jan 2001 – Jul 2002)
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Chrysler Voyager RG (Jan 2001 – Jul 2002)
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Chrysler Grand Voyager GK & GY (Jan 2001 – Jul 2002)
*
Chrysler PT Cruiser FY & FZ (Jul 2001 – Jul 2002)
*
Chrysler PT Cruiser Cabrio JY & JZ (Jul 2001 – Jul 2002)
Notes and references
{{Chrysler Group LLC
Eurostar
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service in Western Europe, connecting Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The service is operated by the Eurostar Group which was formed from the merger of Eurostar, ...
Eurostar
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service in Western Europe, connecting Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The service is operated by the Eurostar Group which was formed from the merger of Eurostar, ...
Eurostar
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service in Western Europe, connecting Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The service is operated by the Eurostar Group which was formed from the merger of Eurostar, ...
Car manufacturers of Austria
History of Graz