El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company

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Nasr
Type Public
Founded 1960
Headquarters Cairo, Flag of Egypt Egypt
Industry Automotive
Products Automobiles
Website http://www.nascoegypt.com

El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company, or simply Nasr, (Arabic: النصر‎) is Egypt's state owned automobile company, founded in 1960 in Helwan, Egypt. Since 1979 the company has produced licensed versions of the Fiat 128 and 125, and in 1991 introduced a further range of Fiat designed cars licensed via the Turkish company (Tofaş). In the early 2000s Nasr began producing the Florida range under license from Serbian manufacturer Zastava.

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[edit] History

The Nasr was a replacement for the short-lived Ramses automobile (also state produced), which suffered from poor design and performance. The Nasr was intended to be an affordable car for the average person of means (though it was still too expensive for a large proportion of the Egyptian population). The company's creation was also part of the general industrialization process initiated after the Egyptian Revolution, which would see millions of Egyptians flock to urban areas to gain work in newly built factories and industrial centers.

The decision to focus on assembly of foreign licensed cars under the Nasr marque was primarily based on the desire to avoid the engineering and design problems associated with previous attempts at domestic car manufacture. Furthermore, the compact and comparatively affordable Fiat-based cars (produced in conjunction with FSO and Zastava) were well suited to the Egyptian market. Nasr would later expand to production of utility and agricultural vehicles such as trucks.

As the years progressed, Nasr's best-selling model, the 128 GLS [[1]], began to show it's age (its design had not been modified since the 1970s). Consequently, Nasr began production of a new range of vehicles, once again based on existing Fiat models, including the Regata, and Fiat-based models licensed by Tofaş, particularly the Dogan and Sahin. The early 21st Century saw the relationship with Zastava expanded with production of the Nasr Florida [[2]].

Nasr's position in Egypt remains strong, largely due to its brand recognition and comparative affordability vis a vis foreign produced vehicles. However, its cars' relative lack of modern design (especially in terms of otherwise standard safety and comfort features), and the increased availability of low-to-mid range foreign brands in Egypt (such as Škoda) have increased the level of competition in Nasr's core market.

[edit] Nasr cars in production today

  • Nasr 125 (based on the Fiat 125) - no longer in production
  • Nasr Dogan (based on the Tofaş Doğan) - no longer in production
  • Nasr Kartal (based on the Tofaş Kartal) - no longer in production


[edit] Other automobile manufacturers in Egypt

In addition to Nasr, other manufacturers such as AAV, the Ghabbour Group, WAMCO - the Watania Automotive Manufacturing Company, and MCV Egypt (Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles) produce automobiles vehicles in Egypt.

MCV Egypt was established in 1994 to represent Mercedes Benz in the commercial vehicle sector in Egypt producing a range of buses and trucks.

The manufacturing plant at Salheya employs over 1000 people. MCV exports buses to the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.

[edit] External links

[edit] Reference

  • David Burgess Wise, The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles.
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