How it started
History
The first Fiat dealership in Argentina was established in 1919 in Buenos Aires to import Fiat automobiles. Four years later, "Fiat Argentina S.A." was officially established to sell and assist automobiles and trucks imported from Italy.
Initially, Fiat activities in Argentina focused on agriculture, importing tractors through its local subsidiary "Agromecánica S.A.C.I.F." created in 1949. Tractors were imported until 1954, when "Fiat Someca Construcciones Córdoba" (then renamed "Fiat Concord") was established to produce those vehicles in Argentina. In 1959, Fiat of Italy signed an agreement with state-owned Industrias Aeronáuticas y Mecánicas del Estado (IAME) to give technical support. The assembly plant was built that same year in the city of Ferreyra, Córdoba Province, one year later another factory was built to produce diesel engines.
Fiat expanded its operations in Argentina when the company entered to railway market in 1956 after state-owned railway company Ferrocarriles Argentinos granted it concession to provide 300 diesel locomotives and rolling stock. That agreement paved the way for the establishment of Materfer to produce railway vehicles. The plant, also built in Ferreyra, was inaugurated in 1958.
On 30 September 1959, the Government of Argentina approved a Fiat proposal to invest USD4,5 million to build a factory in Caseros, Buenos Aires. The first locally produced Fiat vehicle, Fiat 600, was launched on 8 April 1960. Soon after, the 1100 was added to the production line. Both models totalised 4,000 units produced at the end of that year.
The 1100 was assembled until 1963, being replaced by the 1500, with a station wagon (familiare) version released one year later. That same year, Fiat Argentina began exporting autoparts to Chile. Fiat Argentina's range of products expanded with the "Multicarga" pickup, 1500 Coupé, and 770 Coupé (being renamed "800" in 1966). In 1966 Fiat Concord launched the 1500 Coupé Vignale, based on the 1500 and designed exclusively for the Argentine market by Italian coachbuilder Alfredo Vignale.
From Wikipedia’s article on Fiat Concord, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2