Sociedad Anónima de Vehículos Automoviles (SAVA) was a Spanish producer of light and medium commercial vehicles, based in
Valladolid
Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peo ...
.
History
The company started in 1957 with a 3-wheeled vehicle called the SAVA P-54,that could carry 2000 kg loads, but soon switched to make a
Barreiros engined light truck. However, by 1960 they built heavier models based on several British-designed
Austin,
Morris and
BMC commercial vehicle series all of these with Spanish built cabs until 1963. They were built and marketed as SAVA, Sava-Austin, or Sava-BMC and gave way to the successful SAVA S-76 model a large van, including the well-known BMC 'FG' range.
For a short while Sava also assembled the heavy French
Berliet
Berliet was a French manufacturer of automobiles, buses, trucks and military vehicles among other vehicles based in Vénissieux, outside of Lyon, France. Founded in 1899, and apart from a five-year period from 1944 to 1949 when it was put into 'a ...
GPS-12, sold as Sava-Berliet.
In early 60s Sava were making steelcabs of their own design, and from then on only the Sava badge was used. Soon the lorry range appeared starting with the SAVA WF-3 a bonneted model that was based on earlier designs of British original models. Another SAVA that existed was the SAVA FF diesel FC (forward control) a 5 Ton lorry and an improved SAVA FG 7 Ton truck model was launched all of which were based on old BMC models and were mostly identical to those made in the UK before.
In 1965
Enasa
ENASA (Empresa Nacional de Autocamiones S.A.) was a Spanish motor vehicle manufacturing company that was incorporated in 1946 after having bought the automotive assets of the Spanish Hispano-Suiza and the Italian Fiat in Spain. It produced trucks, ...
, the maker of
Pegaso
Pegaso (, "Pegasus") was a Spanish manufacturer of trucks, buses, tractors, armored vehicles, and, for a while, to train apprentices, and have a good brand image, some sports cars. The parent company, Enasa, was created in 1946 and based in the ...
trucks, took over SAVA, but the Sava brand subsisted until 1969, when all the range was rebadged as Pegaso. Until the 1980s these were renamed and produced as the well-known PEGASO SAVA J4-1100 range of vans and there was also the popular SAVA FC light trucks, coaches, minibuses and panel vans all of these were 6 Ton models, they were sometimes also badged as SAVA-PEGASO.
Production of these SAVA vans ended in the late 1980s when the ENASA company was acquired in the 1990s. Several PEGASO SAVA J4 and FC models can still be found and being driven in most parts of Spain due to its cheap running and plenty of spares are available.
Sava trucks were used by the Spanish
Armed Police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
in their anti-riot operations.
Foro Policía Armada
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References
External links
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{{Automotive industry in Spain
Truck manufacturers of Spain
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Spain