The Eurostar Automobilwerk GesmbH & Co. KG is a former subsidiary of the automotive corporation

DaimlerChrysler The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...

. It was established in 1990, and it mainly produced

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

automobiles at the factory located in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

- Liebenau,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. In 2002, it was incorporated into Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co. KG. The factory area covered 221,180 square metres.

Plant history

The company was founded on 13 February 1990 as a 50/50

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

between the

Chrysler Corporation Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

and the Steyr-Daimler-Puch Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co. KG. The construction of the new plant began in March. It was built by the construction company consortium of Ed. Ast & Co. Baugesellschaft mbH and Universale Bau AG. After 19 months the construction work was completed and the installation of the assembly line began. The series production of

Chrysler Voyager The Chrysler Voyager (and the long-wheelbase Chrysler Grand Voyager) is a minivan produced by the Chrysler division of Stellantis. In the current lineup, it is positioned as the lower-end Chrysler minivan, having replaced the Dodge Caravan, Dod ...

and the

Chrysler Grand Voyager The first-generation Chrysler minivans are a series of minivans produced and marketed by the Chrysler Corporation from the 1984 to the 1990 model years. Introduced as the first minivans from an American-brand manufacturer and popularizing the min ...

was initiated at the opening ceremony of

Lee Iacocca Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive best known for the development of the Ford Mustang, Continental Mark III, and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, an ...

on 29 April 1992. After a successful launch, a second shift began to work. In March 1995, the 100,000th Chrysler Voyager rolled off the assembly line. In November, a

new generation "New Generation" is the third and final single from the album ''Dog Man Star'' by English rock band Suede, released on 30 January 1995 through Nude Records. It is the first single to feature music by new guitarist Richard Oakes. Though the tit ...

was introduced. New robots and more automation improved the processing quality of the vehicles. The following year, the company began with the mass production of right-hand drive vehicles. The maximum annual production capacity of the plant was at 55,000 vehicles. In 1998, DaimlerChrysler decided to buy the plant and incorporates it into the group as one of its subsidiaries. In late 1999, the constructions for a plant expansion were started. The expansion lasted over a year and covered a new area of 7,000 m². The extension was necessary to enable the planned assembly of diesel motorized units of the new Chrysler PT Cruiser. Approximately 600 new jobs were created. The company has invested a sum of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

58 million for the expansion. At the same time a modification of the assembly line for the Voyagers was done. The assembly of the fourth generation Voyager started in January 2001, and that of the

Chrysler PT Cruiser The Chrysler PT Cruiser is a retro-styled compact car manufactured and marketed internationally by Chrysler in 5-door hatchback wagon (2001–2010) and 2-door convertible (2005–2008) body styles—over a single generation, with an intermedia ...

and Chrysler PT Cruiser Cabrio in July. But the Austrian assembly of the PT Cruisers was too expensive, so the DaimlerChrysler concern decided in December to end this as quickly as possible. Per vehicle, the Austrian assembly was

US $ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

2000 more expensive than would have been the case in

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. After that there were the first discussions to sell the plant. So the assembly of the PT Cruisers ended after a year and the completion of 50,000 units. On 29 February 2002, the company was purchased by Magna International Inc. at an Annual General Meeting of Chrysler in

Auburn Hills Auburn Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 21,412 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Before incorporating as a city in 1983, the area was part of the now-defunct ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. After the assembly of the last PT Cruiser, the company was dissolved by its new owner. Since that time, the former Eurostar plant is a part of the Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co. KG.

Models produced

GH (Apr 1992 – Sep 1995) *

ES (Apr 1992 – Sep 1995) * Chrysler Caravan GS (Nov 1995 – Dec 2000) * Chrysler Grand Caravan GH (Nov 1995 – Dec 2000) *

GS (Nov 1995 – Dec 2000) *

GH (Nov 1995 – Dec 2000) * Chrysler Caravan RG (Jan 2001 – Jul 2002) * Chrysler Grand Caravan GK & GY (Jan 2001 – Jul 2002) *

RG (Jan 2001 – Jul 2002) *

GK & GY (Jan 2001 – Jul 2002) *

FY & FZ (Jul 2001 – Jul 2002) * Chrysler PT Cruiser Cabrio JY & JZ (Jul 2001 – Jul 2002)

Notes and references

{{Chrysler Group LLC

Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...

Car manufacturers of Austria