[EDIT: Either I didn’t explain this very well, or my text is TL;DR. This question is about vehicles in which both the brand ownership and production packed up and moved from “Country A” to “Country B”. Hope this helps.]
This past week, I had the opportunity to explain the convoluted — some may say tortured — history of the Husqvarna motorcycle. “Husky’s” headquarters and manufacturing facilities were based in their eponymous Swedish town for 84 years, until the motorcycle manufacturing branch was sold to the Castiglioni brothers’ Cagiva/MV Agusta concern. Suddenly, Husqvarna was an Italian-owned marque manufacturing bikes in Varese. Production remained in Italy while the marque’s ownership was passed around, first to Harley-Davidson, then BMW. However, after again being sold to Pierer Industrie AG, KTM’s parent company, production moved to Mattighofen, Austria. This move now made Husqvarna an Austrian-owned, Austrian-manufactured brand.
I share all this because it led me to today’s Encyclopedia entry: Vehicles of many nations. Can you name another vehicle brand that has been simultaneously headquartered and manufactured in two or more nations in its history?
The Caveats (there are always caveats):
- Being owned and manufactured in different countries doesn’t count. International manufacturing alliances, multinational corporate holdings, and captive import branding have resulted in a quagmire we just don’t need to get into. (Mini, anyone?) I want you to name brands that have been unquestionably based in two or more particular nations: that means the boardroom big-wigs and at least some assembly-line production, at the same time.
- We are identifying “brand” by the marque (the brand name under which a vehicle is marketed to the public) not the name of the parent company. (e.g., Dodge is a marque, FCA is a corporate parent.)
- Cars, light trucks, heavy-duty trucks, and motorcycles are all fair game. Airplanes are go this week, just because I’m personally curious what might come up there. I’m nixing boats and ships because those guys are just an incestuous stew of tax evasion and politics.
Difficulty: Wrench-benders: 7+; History nerds: probably no higher than 3-4.
How This Works: Read the comments first and don’t post duplicates! Bonus points for adding photos.
Image Sources: 1994, 2004 & 2016 Husqvarna sales brochures.
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