 | |
| Company type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Bus manufacturing |
| Founded | 1951 |
| Defunct | 2004 |
| Successor | Iveco |
| Headquarters | Bucharest, Romania |
| Products | Buses, trolleybuses, vans |
Rocar (also T.V. or Autobuzul) was a van, light truck, bus and trolleybus manufacturer based in Bucharest, Romania. The firm also produced light offroad vehicles and later heavy road vehicles. During its existence, the company produced over 350,000 vehicles. [1]
Tudor Vladimirescu (T.V.) Works (Romanian : Uzinele Tudor Vladimirescu), named after the revolutionary Tudor Vladimirescu, was created in 1951, and the first production lines were made for rolling-stock equipment and agricultural machinery. [1] From the 1960s much of T.V.'s motor vehicle production was based on use of domestic parts like components and mechanicals sourced from other Romanian manufacturers like ARO, Brasov, DAC, and SR.
In 1956, the first bus was built on a truck frame, and in 1957 the production program was enlarged also for trolleybuses, mini-buses and pick-ups made after T.V.'s own designs. Beginning with 1968, Rocar started exporting vehicles in Eastern Europe, Africa, South America and Middle East and, in 1971, it bought a license from MAN, Germany. In 1974, its name changed to Întreprinderea "Autobuzul" (English: "The Bus" Company). [2]
During the 1980s, due to harsh economy and shortages, the quality of ROCAR (Autobuzul) products decreased a lot, only export vehicles were of better quality. ROCAR issued a lot of prototypes, but very few of them went into series production. Also, with few exceptions, Autobuzul/ROCAR vehicles were almost omnipresent in Romania in the domain of persons transport vehicles and light to medium weight charges, as imports were banned in Romania. This situation will change after 1990 with the fall of communism in Romania. Until the 1990s, "Autobuzul" made exports to Bulgaria, Hungary, Soviet Union (later Ukraine), East Germany, Madagascar, Benin, Burundi, Iraq, Colombia, USA. [1]
After 1990, Rocar (as it became known from 1991) started a cooperation with the bodywork company De Simon from Italy. [3] During the 1990s, ROCAR lost most of its customers (urban transport companies), mainly because of the old technology which led to low quality, low production capacity, and high prices – therefore many of their former customers bought second-hand buses and trolleybuses from the west, causing ROCAR high losses around the turn of the millennium until 2002 when it went bankrupt. In an attempt at building market share they launched a low floor bus and low floor trolleybus in cooperation with Autodromo BusOTTO in the 1990s, named 812, but because of low production capacity leading to a high price, it proved unattractive. ROCAR lost many employees between 1990 and 2002, either retired or found another job (in RATB, Truck & Bus services, car service, etcetera). Between 1990 and 2002 very few exports were made, while domestic demand was also very low.
However, in 1996 ROCAR signed a contract with RATB and Bucharest Local Council for buses, therefore over 300 buses Rocar De Simon U412 were delivered between 1996 and 2002, and also renewed some manufacturing technologies, but the number of built vehicles was still too low, however after the moment when RATB hurt ROCAR some years before, by acquiring new DAF buses and some second hand buses, and later new Ikarus 415T trolleybuses. Trolleybuses were not any more from ROCAR, however 14 ROCAR trolleybuses were delivered to RATB. However, the contract with RATB and Bucharest local Council did not improve the deteriorating situation of ROCAR of the mid to late '90s, because other public transport companies (and other customers like The Army or Interurban Transport Operators) in Romania completely refused to buy its products (main reason stated by them being the low quality products, prices are too high, low availability due to low production capacities, outdated, and they were acquiring instead second hand or other new vehicles mostly (except for The Army, which were buying GRIVBUS or other new vehicles). ROCAR was also affected by competition of two new Romanian manufacturers of busses, trolleybuses and light weight transport vehicles, the same profile of ROCAR: ASTRA BUS ARAD, a new Romanian bus and trolleybus manufacturer, under IRISBUS and Grivbus – another new Romanian bus and light weight transport vehicles manufacturer. They took some of ROCAR's customers, like RATB, Army, and some public transport operators as these two newer manufacturers were using newer technologies, manufacturing more actual vehicles, and with a better quality, and a higher capacity of production and lower prices. In 2001–2002, ROCAR signed a contract with Constanta Council for 100 buses and 40 trolleybuses, but only 15 trolleybuses were delivered, two of them in half assembled state. Few buses were delivered to Constanta but were having major manufacturing deficiencies, therefore they were returned. However, Constanta Council paid for the undelivered buses. Massive second hand bus imports from west which continued in Romania even after 2000, and also contracts with ex-Soviet manufacturer MAZ and some other manufacturers (Irisbus, Isuzu, BMC) gradually sent ROCAR to lack of demand and finally to bankruptcy. Rocar, after 1990, also suffered from technology retard, using outdated technologies, manufacturing outdated products (some of them even 30 years old!) in low capacity, and at high prices, thus leading ROCAR to huge losses and loss of employees. Although Rocar De Simon U412 was a fairly modern vehicle with EURO 2 engine and automatic transmission, and chopper in case of some trolleybuses it did not prove a very big success, as many other transport companies still preferred second hand buses/trolleybuses or other new buses/trolleybuses (MAN, Mercedes, MAZ, Ikarus, BMC), accentuating the deteriorating situation of ROCAR. Rocar De Simon (E/U 412) remained in production until the factory went bankrupt. As a last attempt in their struggle, ROCAR was courted by SOLARIS BUS, for a partnership to assemble URBINO busses from Poland as CKD, but eventually cooperation between ROCAR and SOLARIS BUS failed, only one vehicle is supposed to be built (other said that only the badge ROCAR was attached to it, the bus was in fact made in Poland). However, in the past, many other well known manufacturers (like Scania, DAF, Renault, Volvo, Mercedes, even MAZ (they wanted a partnership with ROCAR in mid to late 2000, just like the one with De Simon, to assemble busses as CKD delivered by MAZ, models 103, 104, 105,107 were proposed)) wanted to buy ROCAR or wanted partnership with ROCAR for assembling buses, trolleybuses and light commercial vans, but eventually gave up, and after 2000, no company showed any interest. In Romania, ROCAR was the only bus, trolleybus and small commercial vehicle manufacturer, until ASTRA BUS ARAD and GRIVBUS appeared on the market. Rocar officially stopped production in early 2002 as there was no more demand for their products (however, production was restarted in the summer of 2002, but very few vehicles were built), exports were down, many workers left because they were unpaid for months, and by the late 2002 production fully ended and ROCAR went into bankruptcy, however not before last vehicles were delivered to companies which acquired them. Debts were at a very high level as were the losses. In the early 2003, while ROCAR was in its last days of life they made some repairs and reconditioning to some old buses belonging to the army and some other bigger companies (like Dacia), however no new demands were registered, and losses increased. In late 2003 and early 2004, the company was liquidated and removed from the registry of commerce, ending 52 years of bus manufacturing in Romania. Its successors are from now on, Grivbus and Astra Bus Arad. Some half assembled vehicles were sold to (or taken by) some customers together with spare parts and assembled by the customer, some other unassembled vehicles were sold as spare parts to customers which had previously acquired ROCAR products. Spare parts remaining in the factory were also taken by companies which were operating ROCAR vehicles, probably as a debt, or by companies which were selling spare parts. It is rumored that some of these were sold by liquidators in order to recover some losses. Other old type vehicles remained unassembled in the factory were scrapped as they had no value, however many of their former customers were, by now, affording new modern vehicles.
ROCAR also had a football team called Rocar Football Team, and had a football terrain and stadium. Also it had a high school, today named Grigore Cerchez.
Other models:
ROCAR light commercial vehicles have largely been withdrawn from service replaced with newer and more modern vehicles. Spare parts for ROCAR vehicles became scarce after the bankruptcy of ROCAR, and the running costs became higher.
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