Fiat Condord | FiatagriWorld.com

FIAT Concord
Est 1919

OM Someca Fiat Concord 60R at the Construcciones Córdoba factory in 1958 with farmer Bernardo Ridao taking delivery 10000 th

Someca Fiat Concord tractor 800 being lowered from ship to a truck with crane for transport

Someca Fiat Concord Fiat Materfer ad brochure poster from 1965 tractor engine car train truck argentina

Someca Fiat Concord brochure showing tractors and equipment graders wagons drills loader argentina

Fiat Concord Fiatagri Agritec brochure showing three models 100 115 120 dt argentina

Fiat Concord Iveco truck 673 n t brochure photo front page blue with trailer argentina

Fiat Concord car 1500 Coupé Vignale photo of factory floor assembly red automotive 1966 1970 Argentina

Fiat Concord Fiat Materfer Fiat Ferroviaria model 7131 running from 1962 to 1995 Argentina

Fiat Concord was an Argentine subsidiary of the Italian industrial and automobile group Fiat SpA.

The foundation for Fiats presence in Argentina was laid, when Italian immigrants came to the country, and started importing Fiat automobiles in 1900.

The Argentine economy was growing fast at the time, and so was the import business.

Fiat took notice, and in 1919, the first official point of sale for FIAT vehicles and tractors was established in Buenos Aires. The Argentine subsidiary was named "Fiat Argentina SA".

35 years later, Fiat opens its first factory in the town of Ferreyra in Cordoba, under the manufactoring subsidiary "Fiat Someca Construcciones Córdoba SA". The factory started building Fiat and Someca licensed tractors.

Fiat Argentina SA would later receive an order for 300 diesel locomotives in 1957, and build a factory for the construction of Fiat trains and rolling stock next to their tractor factory in Ferreyra. The new subsidiary was named Fiat Materfer SA.

Then in 1958, only four years after the Fiat Someca Construcciones Córdoba factory opened, the 10.000th tractor rolled of the assembly line. The model was a 60R, and the new owner was invited to the factory to receive his new tractor.

Fiat Concord would later move the tractor manufacturing facility from Córdoba to the Sauce Viejo Tractor Factory in Santa Fe.

The year after, in 1959, Fiat Argentina SA changed its name to Fiat Concord SA.

This coincided with the Argentine government implementing a local integration rate of 70%. Meaning that all vehicle manufacturers had to use Argentine suppliers for 70% of the parts used in manufacturing.

Fiat decided to create a local production center for all of the parts used in their Argentine production.

Later that year, the Argentine government authorized Fiat to manufacture cars in Argentina.

From 1959 to 1980, Fiat Concord SA expanded their production across northern Argentina, building factories in Córdoba, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, making cars, trucks, buses, trains, tractors and engines.

In 1980, Fiat Concord merged with Peugoets SAFRAR (Sociedad de Automóvil Franco Argentinos).

The new company formed was named SEVEL Argentina SA.

SEVEL being an acronym for "Sociedad Europea de Vehículos para Latinoamérica". Simply meaning "European Company for making Vehicles for Latin America".

Another joined venture between the two brands was established in Italy, named SEVEL SPA.
This later joint venture still exist today, developing and manufacturing light commercial vans.

Tractor production at the Sauce Viejo Tractor Factory in Santa Fe was halted in 1980. Then restarted eight years later, under a new Fiat subsidiary named Agritec SA, manufacturing Perkins engined Fiat 90-series tractors under licens, while adding a new production line for New Holland combines, and import facilities for Laverda and Braud machinery.

But in 1995, all production at the Sauce Viejo Tractor Factory in Santa Fe was halted. The factory and Agritec SA subsidiary were closed. Production of agricultural and construction equipment moved to new facilities in Ferreyra, under the New Holland brand.

Fiat and Peugeot of Argentina separated in 1995, with FIAT taking control of SEVEL Argentina SA, keeping it active, until existing models in production were fazed out by the end of the century.

The train and rolling stock manufacturing subsidiary Fiat-Materfer declared bankruptcy in 1998. The Materfer name and factory would see a rebirth four years later under a new owner.

At the beginning of the new millennium, the Fiat Group reorganized its operations in Argentina, and assembled all its manufacturing and development in Cordoba.

Production of cars, trucks, buses, tractors, combines, construction equipment and engines still continue to this day under the names of "FCA Automobiles Argentina", "Iveco Argentina", "CNH-CaseIH Industrial Argentina", and "FPT Industrial Argentina".

Timeline of Fiat Concord SA

1959: Fiat Argentina SA is renamed Fiat Concord SA, and the Argentine government regulates the automotive industry to promote the development of local production. Fiat decides, like other manufacturers, to create a local production center, to satisfy the law that imposes a local integration rate of 70%. On September 30, the Argentine government authorizes Fiat for manufacturing automobiles in Argentine territory.
1960: Fiat Concord opens its new factory in Caseros, producing its first car, the Fiat Concord 600. Identical in all respects to the Italian original. In the middle of the year, a second car production line is created, with a capacity for 4,000 new Fiat 1100 D.
1963: At the end of the year, the Fiat 1100 is replaced by the Fiat 1500 .
1965: The Fiat 770 is launched , the Multi-load (pickup) and Coupé Vignale versions appear to complete the Fiat 1500 family.
1967: On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Fiats Italien train manufacturer Fiat Ferroviaria, and the tenth anniversary of its Argentine train manufacturer Fiat Materfer, Fiat Concord makes its first institutional film "Chronicle for a future", premiered at the Opera Theater .
1968: Production of the Coupé 1500 is terminated, and local development of its future replacement begins.
1969: The Fiat 1600 replaces the Fiat 1500 . Truck production begins at the Ferreyra plant (Córdoba province) with the 619N and 619T models, at an initial rate of 2 to 3 vehicles per day.
Fiat Concord buys the former IAFSA factory (Industria Automotriz de Santa Fe) where the Auto Union 1000 model was made under licens from 1960 to 1969. Fiat Concord moves their tractor manufacturing facility from Córdoba to Santa Fe, and the Santa Fe factory is renamed Sauce Viejo Tractor Factory. The factory is operative until 1980, and again from 1988 till 1995.
1970: The Fiat 1600 Sport is presented , the coupe developed in Argentina to replace the 1500 coupe. Designed by Aldo Periz, it combined lines from Vignale and Bertone and was presented to complement the Fiat 1600 model saga .
A contract is signed between Fiat Concord and the Argentinian manufacturer of construction equipment Crybsa SA. Fiat Concord would supply engines, while Crubsa would manufacture Fiat branded backhoe loaders, and Crypsa branded Fiat-Allis loaders + crawlers under licens. The contract ran til Crybsa was defunct in the 90's.
1971: The Fiat 128, practically identical to the Italian, is launched with 1,100 and 1,300 cubic centimeters engines. The Fiat de Argentina group of dealerships creates "Industria Argentina Vehicles de Avanzada" (IAVA), with the aim of providing a vehicle with higher performance on the basis of the Fiat 128, offering in addition to power upgrades, more comfort and aerodynamic accessories.
The truck line is also renewed with the launch of the “H” line, consisting of the models: 619 N1, 619 N2, 619 T, and the 6x4: 697N, 697T and the 6x6: 697 NB.
On the 26 of October, the dictatorship of General Alejandro Agustín Lanusse, through Resolution 304 of the Ministry of Labor, occupied the factory.
1972: The pickup version of the 1600 called Multicarga is launched. The family version also appears with the name 125, which will later be extended to the sedan, coupe and pickup.
1973: The Fiat 128 Familiar is launched, developed in Argentina. At the end of the year, the entire 1600 range underwent cosmetic and engine changes, being renamed 125.
1974: Launch of the Fiat 673, a medium truck which was nicknamed "Sallustro", due to the fact that a short time before Oberdán Sallustro, head of Fiat Concord SA, was assassinated.
1977: The Fiat 133 , derived from the SEAT 133 model, is launched .
1980: Fiat Concord merges with Peugoets SAFRAR (Sociedad de Automóvil Franco Argentinos). The new company formed is named SEVEL Argentina SA. SEVEL being an acronym for "Sociedad Europea de Vehículos para Latinoamérica". Simply meaning "European Company for making Vehicles for Latin America".