On 20th March 1954, the factory rolled out its first vehicle: a DKW F 89-L. Today, what was practically a workshop for handcrafted manufacturing is now the largest industry in the Basque Country, and is making great strides in its new flexible factory 4.0 model for the production of electric vehicles: the VAN.EA platform. This transformation means the investment of millions of euros, and forms part of the Greenproduction 2022-2030 project.

Seven decades of experience, and constantly striving for improvement.

While at the beginning, its production capacity was just a few hundred vehicles per year, today we’re talking about 700 vehicles a day. Its facilities have grown from an initial 11,300 m2 to 700,000 m2. Over the years, the company has seen unstoppable growth and achieved important milestones, but not without challenges and overcoming adverse market situations. 

In 1963, it obtained its first world exclusive for the production of the DKW F 1000-L model. 

In 1995, it began production of the Vito model, and a year later, that of the V-Class, a momentous success which earned itself the title Van of The Year in 1996, and again in 2006.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Vitoria plant underwent a complete overhaul, doubling its surface area. Thanks to an investment of 775 million euros and the latest technological advances, it was made into a state-of-the-art plant.   

In 2011, in anticipation of the immediate future, it produced the E-Cell model—the world’s first mass-produced electric commercial vehicle.

At present, together with Basquevolt and the Basque Automotive Manufacture Center, the Mercedes-Benz new platform, VAN.EA, points to a firm positioning for Alava’s automotive ecosystem within the new industrial realm of mobility.