Industrias Kaiser Argentina

Industrias Kaiser Argentina S.A. or IKA was an Argentine motor car company established in 1956 in Córdoba Province as a joint venture with Kaiser Motors of the United States.

The automaker produced a variety of Kaiser Jeep vehicles and American Motors (AMC) models, including Argentina's most iconic car, the Torino, before partnering with France's Renault, which bought it out in 1970.

History

1950s

IKA Estanciera (Willys Jeep wagon)

The government of Argentina sent a delegation to the United States in 1951 to meet with auto manufacturers interested in building cars in Argentina. Unfortunately the market was seen as too small to justify the investment, and no one but Kaiser was interested. On 19 January 1955, the government signed an agreement to permit Kaiser to manufacture automobiles and trucks in Argentina. The U.S. automaker was facing problems in its domestic market. It took the Willys Aero out of production in 1955 leaving two redundant sets of vehicle production lines. The Kaiser auto manufacturing equipment was shipped to Argentina while the Willys equipment formed the automaker's capital contribution to establish a new company in Brazil.
Kaiser created Kaiser Automotores, a wholly owned subsidiary as holding company that owned part of the newly created Industrias Kaiser Argentina, the manufacturing and marketing arm. Other partners in IKA included Industrias Aeronáuticas y Mecánicas del Estado (IAME), the government-owned airplane and vehicle manufacturer, as well as private investors. The public offering of shares of stock was oversubscribed.
The first imports from the U.S. consisted of 1,021 complete cars, manufacturing equipment, and spare parts. Groundbreaking for the new factory in the city of Santa Isabel in Córdoba Province was held in March 1955 with the first Jeep vehicle driven out on 27 April 1956.

IKA Carabela (Kaiser Manhattan)

The initial production was of various Jeeps. Models included the CJ versions, as well as the Willys Jeep Truck or IKA Baqueano Pick-up, and the Willys Jeep Wagon or IKA Estanciera as well as a panel delivery version known as the IKA Utilitario. These utility vehicles were shortly followed by a local version of the Kaiser Manhattan 4-door sedan, called the Carabela, using the U.S. production equipment which had been transferred to IKA. The combined Carabela-Jeep production of 22,612 units was 81% of all vehicles manufactured in Argentina in 1958 with the only competition being a state-run utility vehicle manufacturer.
To expand the marketing of its vehicles in 1958, IKA sponsored a musical variety show El Show de IKA that highlighted an American vocalist, Andy Russell. It was the most expensive TV program produced in Argentina, a Jeep was driven on the stage during every show, and the first to use cameras mounted high above the stage.
In 1959, the American-Argentine company become IKA Renault as a result of an agreement to produce the French firm's Renault cars. The small Renault Dauphine was produced and badged IKA Dauphine.