Rodae Automobile
 |
|
| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired |
| Predecessor | Oltcit |
| Successor | Ford Romania |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Defunct | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Craiova, Romania |
| Products | Automobiles |
| Website | acsa.ro |
Automobile Craiova S.A. was an automobile manufacturer located in Craiova, Romania.
The factory was founded in 1976 as the Oltcit joint venture company between the Romanian government (64%) and Citroën (36%). The factory produced cars under the Oltcit and Citroën brands for the domestic and external markets.
Their main product was the Oltcit Club / Citroën Axel hatchback.
The name "Oltcit" comes from the region of Oltenia in Romania, with "cit" being an abbreviation of Citroën. The Oltcit logo is also similar to the Citroën one, but features only one chevron, as opposed to the two found on Citroën's logo, plus the letter "O".
In 1991, as a result of the withdraw of Citroën from the joint venture, the name of the company was changed to Automobile Craiova and production continued under the Oltena brand.
In 1994, the company decided to go into partnership (49%-51%) with Korean company Daewoo Heavy Industries (later Daewoo Motors) as Rodae Automobile. After producing the Oltcit between 1981–1996 (starting 1992 rebadged as Oltena, and as Rodae after 1994), the company started producing the Tico, Cielo and Espero.
In 1997, the name was changed to Daewoo Automobile Romania and a new engine and transmission factory was opened by the company, and by 2001 was also producing the Matiz and Nubira II. However, by this time, the main parent company in Korea had collapsed, due to financial problems in South Korea economy and over-expansion in Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
In 2002, General Motors bought the bulk of Daewoo Motor in South Korea, but did not buy the plants producing Daewoo cars in Romania, Poland, Ukraine or Uzbekistan. Due to this deal, the Romanian company was not allowed to export their products to neighbouring countries any more, or produce newer models by the new GM Daewoo company.
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Wikipedia