Oltcit

Oltcit S.A. (Romanian: [oltˈsit]) was an automobile manufacturer, established as a joint venture between the Romanian government (64%) and Citroën (36%).[1] Their main products was the Oltcit Club and Citroën Axel hatchbacks, assembled in Craiova, Romania.

Oltcit S.A.

Former type	Joint venture
Industry	Automotive
Successor	Automobile Craiova
Founded	1976
Defunct	1991
Headquarters	Craiova, Romania
Products	Automobiles
Website	www.oltcit.ro

History

In 1991, as a result of the withdrawal of Citroën from the joint venture, the name of the company was changed to Automobile Craiova and production continued under the Oltena brand.[2][3]

In 1994, the company decided to go into partnership (49%-51%) with Korean company Daewoo Heavy Industries and Rodae Automobile was established, later renamed into Daewoo Automobile Romania.

In 2008, Ford of Europe, a division of Ford Motor Company, took over the former factory Oltcit/Daewoo, which became known as Ford Romania.[4]

Name

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". If the Oltcit logo was removed the space left for the Citroën's logo two chevrons became apparent. Virtually all Oltcit cars in Eastern Europe had their logo removed, showing the space for the Citroën's logo .

Models

Oltcit Special

Oltcit Club

Oltcit Axel

• Special
• Club
• Club 11 R
• Club 11 RL
• Club 11 RM
• Club 11 RT
• Club 11 RTA
• Club 12 TRS
• Club 12 CS
• Axel Entreprise
• Axel 12 TRS Entreprise

References

1. "Ford-Romanian Expansion" (PDF). Ford Motor Company. 5 May 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
2. Business operations report: Central Asia Economist Intelligence Unit (Great Britain) - 1999. "Daewoo Automobile Craiova The Oltcit legacy — Romania's other producer of passenger cars also derives from communist-era co-operation with a French carmaker, in this case Citroen, which in 1976 formed a joint venture in Craiova in the ..."
3. Istvan Oliver Egresi, Geographical dynamics of FDI in Romania - Page 214. The University of Oklahoma, Department of Geography - 2008. "Automobile Craiova/Daewoo The story of Automobile Craiova begins in 1977 when the Romanian government contacted Citroen to establish a joint venture137 to manufacture a certain model of Citroen 138 renamed Oltcit 139."
4. "Ford - Romanian Expansion" (PDF). Ford Motor Company. 5 May 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.

See also

• Bulgarrenault
• Oyak-Renault
• Polski Fiat