Ebro trucks was a Spanish brand of light and medium

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

s and

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es, as well as

all-wheel-drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one w ...

utility vehicles with plants located in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Ávila Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m abov ...

, and Cordoba.

History

Ebro trucks's parent company, Motor Ibérica, was set up in 1954 to build original British-designed

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

trucks based on Ford's

Thames Trader The Thames Trader was a range of trucks manufactured by Ford UK built between 1957 and 1965. Forward Control models Design The distinctive cab design, which sets it apart from other British commercial vehicles, was a forward-control (or semi-for ...

ET4 4X2 and ET6 6X4 models under license using the name EBRO during the 1950s and 1960s.

1960s−1970s

During the late-1960s and early-1970s, the company took over four Spanish light vehicle makers: Fadisa, (

Alfa Romeo Romeo The Alfa Romeo Romeo was a light commercial, cabover van and pickup truck that was introduced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo in 1954 as the Alfa Romeo Autotutto ("all purpose"). The line of vans continued to be built until 1983, when it was ...

vans), Aisa (

Avia Avia Motors s.r.o. is a Czech automotive manufacturer. It was founded in 1919 as an aircraft maker, and diversified into trucks after 1945. As an aircraft maker it was notable for producing biplane fighter aircraft, especially the B-534. Avia ...

trucks), Siata (

SEAT A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

car derived minivans), and (various

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...

4x4s and

Forward Control Cab-over, also known as cab over engine (COE), cab forward (U.S.), flat nose (Canada), or forward control (UK), is a body style of truck, bus, or van that has a vertical front, "flat face" or a semi-hood, with the cab of the truck sitting a ...

utility vehicles). It also took over the Spanish branch of

Perkins Perkins is a surname derived from the Anglo-Saxon corruption of the kin of Pierre (from Pierre kin to Pierrekin to Perkins), introduced into England by the Norman Conquest. It is found throughout mid- and southern England. Another derivation com ...

engines. This resulted in a real frenzy of

badge engineering In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a manu ...

, as one could see Avia-badged Jeeps, Ebro-badged Alfa-Romeos, and so on. Meanwhile, Ebro introduced tilt-cab Ford 'D'-Series derived models for loads of between l'/2 and 7 tons and gradually added new models until the range covered 2- and 3-axle rigids and articulated types from 3 to 27 tons capacity. Ebro also entered the agricultural tractor market through a license agreement with

Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson Limited is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in T ...

, which eventually led to the later becoming the controlling shareholder in Motor Ibérica.

1980s

In the 1980s, Ebro launched the 'E'-Series trucks range, comprising some six models from 3,500 to 11,200 kg gross, and the 'P'-Series for gross weights of 13,000 to 27,000 kg. The lighter Avia range also continued in production. In 1979

Nissan Motors , trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun brands, ...

(not

Nissan Diesel UD Trucks Corporation (UDトラックス株式会社, ''UD Torakkusu Kabushikigaisha'') is a Japanese company whose principal business is the manufacturing and sales of diesel trucks, buses, bus chassis and special-purpose vehicles. Its headquarte ...

, the truck subsidiary) had taken a 34% stake in Motor Ibérica, which by the autumn of 1982 had increased to 53% . Nissan then took complete control in 1987, following Spain's accession to the

EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

. From then on the company was named Nissan Motor Ibérica. During a short period, Japanese

Kubota Kubota machine is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Osaka. It was established in 1890. The corporation produces many products including tractors and other agricultural machinery, construction equipment, engines, vending machines, p ...

tractors were assembled and marketed in Spain as Ebro-Kubota. Following the Nissan takeover, a "badge slide" from Ebro to Nissan took place. This was not without surprising occurrences, such as Ebro-badged

Nissan Patrol The is a series of full-size SUVs manufactured by Nissan in Japan and sold throughout the world. The Patrol has been available as either a short-wheelbase (SWB) three-door or a long-wheelbase (LWB) five-door chassis since 1951. The LWB version ...

s that were sold in some European countries. During the 1980s and 1990s EBRO produced the EBRO NISSAN Vanette panel vans and the EBRO NISSAN PATROL 4X4 Series, although today the name EBRO has been dropped vehicles are still produced under the name NISSAN ATLEON and NISSAN CABSTAR commercial range.

2010s

Currently, Spanish Nissan are manufacturing the Cabstar light truck range and the Atleon heavy trucks range at their NISSAN MOTORS Avila plant.

Gallery

File:EBRO 470 tractor in Syria.JPG, Ebro 470 tractor File:Ebro 6067 (1).jpg, Ebro 6067 tractor File:FurgonetaEBRO.jpg, EBRO F-108 File:Jeep Ebro Comando.jpg, Ebro

Jeep Comando Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...

File:EBRO C-153 (1966) 20140921 400.jpg, Ebro C-153 truck

References

External links

Spanish Nissan trucks webpage
— ''Spanish clone of the more-famous American Jeep Commando''. {{Automotive industry in Spain Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Spain Defunct truck manufacturers Nissan Companies based in Barcelona Companies based in Madrid Companies of Andalusia Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1954 1980s disestablishments in Spain Spanish brands Spanish companies established in 1954 Manufacturing companies of Spain Vehicle manufacturers of Spain