Namco (automobiles)
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NAMCO (National Motor Company of Greece) is a Greek vehicle manufacturer. It was founded in 1972 by the Kontogouris brothers.


History

The first efforts of the Kontogouris brothers involved attempts to build a light truck called ''Hellas'' in Germany. In 1957, they acquired rights to the production technology of a multi-purpose vehicle developed by Swiss engineer Dr. Wilfried Fahr. In 1961, Kontogouris (Gerasimos, Dimitrios, Leonidas, Petros, Victor-Georgios, and Konstantinos) created their first company (FARCO) in
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
, Greece, in order to produce a vehicle with a
BMW 700 The BMW 700 is a small rear-engined car which was 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 financ ...
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engine, that they named the FARMOBIL. Ironically, this vehicle was not certified for sale in the Greek market, and nearly all of the vehicles made were exported to several countries around the world. In 1963, the company was acquired by
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
and renamed as Chrysler Hellas S.A. - By 1965 (other sources state 1966), Chrysler was planning to produce a version of the Greek vehicle in the United Kingdom via the Rootes company, in which they had acquired a 30% stake in 1964. One prototype was built with a
Hillman Imp The Hillman Imp is a small economy car that was made by the Rootes Group and its successor Chrysler Europe from 1963 until 1976. Revealed on 3 May 1963, after much advance publicity, it was the first British mass-produced car with the engine b ...
engine but the vehicle was not put into production. In 1967, production of the FARMOBIL ended and Chrysler Hellas S.A. focused on importing vehicles from Chrysler's American and European subsidiaries. Despite all this, Chrysler retained the relationship with the Kontogouris brothers until the late 1970s. 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 (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...
, Greece to produce under licence a German-designed (
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)
three-wheeler A three-wheeler is a vehicle with three wheels. Some are motorized tricycles, which may be legally classed as motorcycles, while others are tricycles without a motor, some of which are human-powered vehicles and animal-powered vehicles. Ove ...
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...
and other vehicles, but were not materialized.


NAMCO (1972)

NAMCO would resurface in 1972, when a light passenger-utility vehicle called the ''Pony'' was introduced in the
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, after an agreement was signed with
Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
. The car, whose original design (
Baby-Brousse The Baby-Brousse is a Citroën 2CV-based utility vehicle, initially privately built, that later spawned the FAF series of vehicles. Similar to a metal-bodied Citroën Méhari, the Baby-Brousse was a success with more than 31,000 being built from 1 ...
) was created by a team of French engineers in
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on a 2CV platform, had been adopted by Citroën itself as part of "basic world car" project that eventually led to the
Citroën FAF The Citroën FAF is a small utility vehicle produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1973 until 1981. It was built using a combination of imported and locally sourced components in various developing countries. The body was made of easy t ...
(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 (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
. 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. A production number of 30,000 Pony's has often been cited, but it most probably included similar vehicles produced in other countries; a more accurate number of cars produced in Greece should be close to 17,000 units. Following its success in the Greek market, the company made significant exports to many countries around the world (a few were even exported to the U.S.), undoubtedly "helped" by the
Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
logo on the vehicle. In 1978, NAMCO decided to move into other fields, introducing a series of very advanced 4x4 and 6x6 (3 to 6.5 tonne) multi-purpose trucks featuring a novel Swiss-designed, patented
axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotation, rotating wheel and axle, wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In ...
/
suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Car suspension * Cell suspension or suspension culture, in biology * Guarded suspension, a software design pattern in concurrent programming suspending a method call and the calling ...
system. A complete lineup was made for many uses, consisting of the ''Agricar'', ''Milicar'', ''Pyrcar'' and ''Multi-trac'' vehicles. It is somewhat of a mystery why those advanced vehicles had limited success, with only small numbers ordered by Greek state authorities. Similarly, NAMCO designed a number of military vehicles including the ''Panther'' (of which only 2 were produced), as well as the ''Tiger'' and ''Aquilles'' armored vehicles and 4x4's, some of which did not even reach the stage of complete prototype. It has been argued that it was simply the wrong time, since the Greek state favored a state company (
ELBO Elbo was, according to Herodotus' '' Histories'', a man-made island of ash and earth where the blind Egyptian king Anysis lived during his 50 years of exile while the Ethiopian king Sabacos ruled Egypt. Supposedly, the island was built up because ...
) 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 license 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'', introduced in 1985. The second generation Pony had no connection with
Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
technology and was a much more modern car with Ford engines, coming in a number of versions (950 cc , 1100 cc , 1300 cc and 1600 cc diesel, in two- and four-door arrangements). It was essentially developed by NAMCO, since Inthelco, a German 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 license in Bulgaria 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 but never produced. Company focus, nonetheless, as was the case with many similar Greek companies, has decisively shifted towards trade and services.


New era

The company had announced plans to restart production in 2015, introducing a "new generation Pony". The new Pony was to be powered either by a PCM (Peugeot-Citroën Moteurs) or FIAT (1360 cc) engine, and retained the main body design of the previous generation Pony. The company had made several announcements, including claims about discussions with companies in Asia, Africa, and South America who had expressed interest in license production of the new model. However, none of the above has been materialized to date.


Models


Company: Farco

*''Farmobil'' advanced multi-purpose vehicle (designed by Dr. W. Fahr), 1961-1967.


Company: NAMCO (initial planned establishment)

*Three-wheeler truck, (
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licence), 1961: production planned to have started by mid-1960s but not materialized.


Company: NAMCO (proper operation)

*''Pony-Citroën'' light passenger-utility automobile (
Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
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 Fardier'' but actually a different design): only 2 were produced. *'' Tiger 4x4'' 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 is a Japanese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. One of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers, the company was known for building three-wheeled vehicles and off-road vehicle ...
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.


Related entry

*
Citroën FAF The Citroën FAF is a small utility vehicle produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1973 until 1981. It was built using a combination of imported and locally sourced components in various developing countries. The body was made of easy t ...


References

*L.S. Skartsis and G.A. Avramidis, ''Made in Greece'', Typorama, Patras, Greece (2003).
L.S. Skartsis, "Greek Vehicle & Machine Manufacturers 1800 to present: A Pictorial History", Marathon (2012)
(eBook). *Jane's ''Military Vehicles & Logistics'', 1992 edition.


Notes


External links


NAMCO website
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130621045907/http://www.videoactive.eu/VideoActive/VideoDetails.do?id=VA_HENAA20070830102715392&sw=&curitem=6&curpage=0 Early 1960s report about export of Greek Farmobils to the U.S.] {{Automotive industry in Greece Truck manufacturers of Greece Off-road vehicles Greek brands Cars powered by boxer engines Manufacturing companies based in Thessaloniki Car manufacturers of Greece Electric vehicle manufacturers of Greece