Bouhagier Patras (Μπουχάγιερ Πάτραι) or Buhayer Patras was considered to be the longest-lived vehicle body manufacturer in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
. It was founded in 1890 and dissolved in 2004.
The name ''Bouhagier'' was the corrupted version of the name of a
Maltese (name : Bouhagiar) family who had settled in Greece. The company was founded in
Patras
)
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by Tzamaría (Ioannis Maria) Bouhagier, who was born on the island of
Cephalonia
Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It ...
, and developed by his sons, was one of the most respected builders of horse-drawn carriages.
In the early 1920s it began the construction of motor vehicle (car, bus and various truck) bodies, and eventually concentrated on buses. Bouhagier has built an extended range of bus models on a variety of chassis and modifications were occasionally done to accommodate different body lengths. The company, like all Greek bus manufacturers, suffered a major blow in the 1980s when the Greek market was flooded with used imports. Since the 1990s its activities were essentially reduced to body repairs until it went out of business a few years later.
References
*L.S. Skartsis and G.A. Avramidis, "Made in Greece", Typorama, Patras, Greece (2003) (republished by the
Patras Science Park, 2007)
{{Automotive industry in Greece
Motor vehicle manufacturers of Greece
Greek companies established in the 19th century
Bus manufacturers of Greece
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Greece
Companies based in Patras
History of Patras
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1890
1890 establishments in Greece
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2004
2004 disestablishments in Greece