Oltcit S.A. () was an automobile manufacturer, established as a joint venture between the Romanian government (64%) and

Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...

(36%). Their main products were the

Oltcit Club The Oltcit Club was a supermini produced between 1984 and 1988 and developed in co-operation by Citroën of France and Oltcit, a joint venture company with the Romanian government. They were powered by the air-cooled engines from the Citroën G ...

and Citroën Axel

hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...

s, assembled in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

, Romania.

History

Oltcit emerged as a result of a partnership between the Romanian state authorities (government) and the French car manufacturer Citroën. Thus, a year later, in 1977, in Craiova, the construction of a modern factory for the construction of a small car began. In 1979, at the EREN exhibition in Bucharest, the "National Economy Achievements Exhibition", the new Oltcit car brand was officially launched, which had two variants: a 652 cc and 36 HP engine and a 1130 cc and 56 HP engine. The new Oltcit cars were to be mass-produced from 1980. Four versions were produced at the factory: *

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

- equipped with a 652 cc engine from the Citroen Visa and LNA. *

- equipped with a 1129 cc engine and 4-speed gearbox. *

Oltcit Club 12 TRS Oltcit S.A. () was an automobile manufacturer, established as a joint venture between the Romanian government (64%) and Citroën (36%). Their main products were the Oltcit Club and Citroën Axel hatchbacks, assembled in Craiova, Romania. Histo ...

- originally fitted with a 1200cc engine but replaced with a 1299cc engine and 5-speed gearbox; it was a car destined for export to France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela,

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Bulgaria. *

Oltena Club 12 CS The Oltcit Club 12 CS is a small pick-up based on the Oltcit Club. It was launched in 1993 with a 1299cc engine and a 5-speed gearbox with ratios that favor power. This model also has thicker rear torsion bars to withstand a greater load. Engine ...

- available since 1993, a two-seater small

pick-up truck A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...

; 1299cc engine and a 5-speed gearbox with power-friendly ratios. Production continues under the name of Oltcit until 1991, when the name was changed to

Oltena Oltena (officially ''S.C. Automobile Craiova S.A.'') was a Romanian car manufacturer formed in 1991 after the takeover of the Oltcit shares held by Citroën by the Romanian state. From 1994 and up until 2006, ''Automobile Craiova S.A.'' (''ACSA'' ...

(the logo was also changed) because

decided to withdraw from the joint venture. The production of those versions continued until the signing of the contract with Daewoo, when another name change took place, from Oltena to

Rodae Rodae (officially ''RODAE Automobile Craiova S.A.'', and later ''Daewoo Automobile Romania S.A.'') was a joint venture between S.C. Automobile Craiova S.A. and Daewoo Heavy Industries that started in 1994. History In November 1994, Daewoo ope ...

. In 1991, as a result of the withdrawal of Citroën from the joint venture, the name of the company was changed to S.C. Automobile Craiova S.A. and production continued under the

brand. In 1994, a joint venture (49%-51%) was established between the Korean company Daewoo Heavy Industries and S.C. Automobile Craiova S.A., called Rodae, later renamed Daewoo Automobile Romania. In 2008,

Ford of Europe Ford of Europe GmbH is a subsidiary company of Ford Motor Company founded in 1967 in Cork (city), Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with headquarters in Cologne, Germany. History Ford of Europe was founded in 1967 by the merger of Ford of Bri ...

, a division of Ford Motor Company, took over the former Oltcit/Daewoo factory, which became known as Ford Romania.

Models

* Special * Club * Club 11 R * Club 11 RL * Club 11 RM * Club 11 E * Club 11 RT *

Club 11 RTA Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

* Club 12 TRS * Club 12 RTS * Club 12 CS * Axel Entreprise * Axel 12 TRS Entreprise

Gallery

File:Oltcit Auto.jpg, Oltcit Club File:Axel Grey-Side.jpg, Citroen Axel File:Oltcit Special.jpg, 1984 Oltcit Special

References

External links

{{Romanian automobile brands and manufacturers Car manufacturers of Romania Defunct manufacturing companies of Romania 1976 establishments in Romania Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1976 Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Romania Companies based in Craiova Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1991 1991 disestablishments in Romania Joint ventures Citroën

History

Models

Gallery

See also

References

External links