A subject with a basic question: was there any Namco production in China?
Namco or National Motor Company of Greece was established in 1972 in Thessaloniki in Greece by the Kontongouris family.
Namco built over the years very simple sturdy utility vehicles, mostly for agricultural or army use.
In 1972 the Pony was introduced, in production since 1974, a light passenger-utility vehicle, designed by Citroën and based on the Citroën 2CV platform.
Citroën was interested in the Chinese market. In June 1980 it organised a product exhibition in Guangzhou, named ‘the Citroën Vehicle Technology Fair’. More than 30 vehicles were exposed.
Including a model of a small cross country vehicle, named M7 4×4 and this model was made together with Heuliez.
And the Citroën A44 (4×4).
The story would have stopped here.
But.
Surprisingly this is published on the web page of the Namco company:
“1982, NAMCO with CITROËN started the first foreign automobile plant in China, for PONY® vehicles.”
And:
“In 1982, CITROËN with Inthelco and Germany signed on behalf of NAMCO AG of Greece, a great historic significance contract with the then PR China, in the city of Canton for the production of Greek PONY® in China, with drive-train (engine – gearbox) of CITROËN, as the first western automaker, with the cooperation of NAMCO and CITROËN. Then this plant in China went to the PEUGEOT group (PSA) and successfully continues today to produce hundreds of thousands of different cars.”
Namco the first foreign automobile plant in China?? As our readers know, we know a lot.
But we have never heard about a Namco factory in China. And most certainly not that this Namco factory was the first foreign car factory in China….
In 1988 I visited the Guangzhou Peugeot factory (GPAC) in Guangzhou, about 20km bicycling along a dirty road with much truck traffic.
Guangzhou-Peugeot factory in 1988. Photo Erik van Ingen Schenau.
Factory people told me that GPAC started the Peugeot production in 1985. Production started on the facilities of the Guanghou Bus Works.
No word about a Namco Pony production before the Peugeots.
What about this story?
Fake, as the production never took place. Unless someone can proof differently.
Also in the Chinese press, there was never a mention of a Namco contract or production.
Maybe there were negotiations, maybe even a temporary contract was signed. But production or assembly? No.
We asked Citroën. This is their answer:
“Unfortunately, I asked our Citroën History Department and they cannot find any information on the subject.
As far as we know, the 2CV Pony has been built only in Greece, even though there were some attempts to build it in other countries like Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. But nothing about China.
Best regards, Claire Bady
CHARGEE DE COMMUNICATION PRODUIT
CITROËN/MARKETING COMMUNICATION”.
WHO CAN HELP US?
p.s. in 2023, when re-reading the Namco website , I noticed that they had added the name of their Chinese partner:
GUANGDONG MOTOR INDUSTRIES CORPORATION.
Just bought this brochure on a chinese second-hand book website. It seems that Citroen International really wanted to promote their car-building tutorial to China (The brochure is written in simplified Chinese characters, which were basically discontinued by the government in 1978. So its date might be earlier than Namco Pony).
In 1980 Citroèn organized an exhibition in Guangzhou, called the “Technical and Industrial Exposition of Citroën Vehicles”. They showed, besides of the Citroën BX and CX, the Citroën A44 4×4 cross country vehicle, a mockup of the M7 4×4 made by Heuliez, and a Mehari 4×4. It is very well possible that this booklet was distributed at this exposition.
It seems that Namco had signed at this exhibition a contract with the Guangdong Motors Industry Corporation, to produce Namco vehicles in Guangzhou. But the production never took place.
[…] the 504 and 505 series, from 1985-1997. It is possible that initially the idea was to produce here Namco Pony’s from Greece, Namco signed a protocol with the Guangdong Motor Industries Corporation, but Pony’s were […]
Perhaps Mr Kontogouris could shed some light on the matter.
The greek automotive industry in the 80s begun to dissolve mainly from 2 major factors :
1) the greek state did nothing at all to support Greek assembly lines and purchased in huge numbers foreign products even from countries of the Eastern block (i. e Hungary Ikarus buses, Chavdar buses from Bulgaria, Ziu 9 trolley buses from Russia) even though Greece had at the moment 2 bus assembly lines, state owned ELVO and private owned Viamax
2) lots of strikes led by “socialists” and leftists that targeted mainly foreign companies
Yes, one of the Kontogouris brothers could be of help. Do you k now how to approach them? Many thanks, Erik van Ingen Schenau.