Planta Reo de México

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Planta Reo de México
legal form SA
founding 1949
resolution 1964
Reason for dissolution bankruptcy
Seat Monterrey , Mexico
management Hector Cortés
Branch Automobile manufacturing Commercial vehicle manufacturing

Planta Reo de México, SA was a Mexican commercial vehicle and automobile manufacturer based in Monterrey . Despite the Reo part of the name , the company was independent of the US Reo Motor Car Company .

history

Production of Reo brand trucks and buses began on February 15, 1949, initially with a capacity of 150 vehicles per month. Domestically produced components included bodies, batteries, seats, panels, etc.

The vehicles assembled by Planta Reo were sold by the subsidiary Equipos Automotrices , which had previously sold Reo vehicles. Arturo Garza played a decisive role in the production project, but he did not experience the production himself. The new managing director was Héctor Cortés (or Cortez).

Reo trucks between 6 and 14 tons and with an output of up to 175 hp were produced. From the end of 1950, vehicles of the American brand Crosley (presumably) were also assembled until 1952.

It was not until the end of the 1950s that passenger cars were added to the production range again. Rambler automobiles had already been assembled in Mexico between 1950 and 1957 by Armadora Mexicana (which later became a General Motors dealer). Reo is said to have assembled and sold the entire Rambler product range from American to Ambassador . The expansion of the plant was officially opened on October 31, 1959. The aim was an annual production of 1500 units or one car and half a truck per hour. Likewise, 30 sales partners were specified across the country. At the end of 1959 or beginning of 1960, however, the relationship with AMC ended again. There are two assumptions for this: firstly, poor sales figures on the part of Reo and differences of opinion between the managing director Héctor Cortez and the AMC executives. In fact, only 171 Rambler automobiles were sold in 1958, corresponding to a market share of 0.7%. The second assumption concerns the possibility of signing a much more lucrative agreement with Toyota .

In fact, in the course of 1960, Reo received a license to manufacture (not just assemble) Toyopet vehicles and Toyota trucks, which can be described as very ambitious for a company of this size. This made Toyota the second Japanese automobile manufacturer in Mexico after Nissan . In September (or December) 1960, the assembly of Toyota automobiles (including the Land Cruiser and Corona ) and large trucks (model DA95LH-3) began. The annual number should be 3000. In 1962, 1239 Toyotas were sold (market share 3.1%). The relatively popular Toyopet Tiara is said to have been made in Monterrey until the end of 1961, followed shortly thereafter by the Toyopet Crown . In October 1961, the factory facilities for Toyota production were expanded. After the government passed policies in 1962 to encourage domestic automobile manufacturing, Planta Reo de México applied for and received approval for the Toyota brand in January 1963.

In 1963, Héctor Cortés was charged with fraud and temporarily detained. Toyota production ended in March 1964 after 3580 vehicles were assembled. The company was officially declared bankrupt on September 13, 1964.

The production of Reo trucks in Mexico was continued from 1964 by Vehículos Automotores Mexicanos . In the two years after the bankruptcy, the Toyopets that had already been manufactured were sold at steep discounts. Toyota closed its own sales company in April 1966 and withdrew from the Mexican market because it lacked partners in the state-regulated market (which by law should have already existed). As a manufacturer, Toyota was not due to return to Mexico until 2002.

The company was written with capital letters (REO) and only with capital letters (Reo). The sources do not provide a uniform picture on this point.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Douglas C. Bennett, Kenneth E. Sharpe: Transnational Corporations versus the State: The Political Economy of the Mexican Auto Industry . Princeton University Press, Princeton 2014 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  2. ↑ a b c d e Salvador Díaz Espejel: El Sueño Posible. La historia de Willys Mexicana / Vehículos Automotores Mexicanos 1946 - 1986. (PDF) 2014, accessed on July 21, 2019 (Spanish).
  3. ↑ a b c d 75 Years of TOYOTA - Activities by Region - Latin America. In: toyota-global.com. August 1, 2016, accessed on July 21, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b 75 Years of TOYOTA - Item 3. Start of exports to Latin America. Start of exports to Latin America. In: toyota-global.com. August 1, 2016, accessed on July 21, 2019 .
  5. ↑ 75 Years of TOYOTA - Overseas Production - Advancement in Overseas Affiliates. In: toyota-global.com. August 1, 2016, accessed on July 21, 2019 .