Simca
Simca (Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile) was a French carmaker that Fiat S.p.A. formed in November 1934. From July 1935 until May 1963, Italian Henri Pigozzi served as the company's director. After purchasing Ford's French business, Simca, which was connected to Fiat, fell under greater influence of Chrysler. Simca's tenure as an independent firm came to an end in 1970 when it became a brand of Chrysler's European division. Simca vanished in 1978 after Chrysler sold its European business to PSA Peugeot Citroen, another French carmaker. After a brief period in which some vehicles were badged as Simca-Talbots, PSA replaced the Simca mark with Talbot.
Simca was one of France's largest automakers throughout the most of its post-war existence. Moment the Simca 1307 and Simca Horizon earned the coveted European Car of the Year award in 1976 and 1979, respectively, these models were badge engineered as goods of other marques in various countries. For a while, the Simca 1100 was the most popular vehicle in France. For instance, the Chrysler Alpine was sold in Britain as the Simca 1307, and the Chrysler brand was also used to market the Horizon.
Simca do Brasil in So Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, and Barreiros (another Chrysler subsidiary) in Spain both produced Simca automobiles. During the Chrysler period, they were also assembled in Australia, Chile, Colombia, and the Netherlands. It is Argentina.
Early in the 1920s, Henri Pigozzi was involved in the car industry and met Giovanni Agnelli, the man who would later form Fiat. In 1922, they started working together, with Pigozzi serving as a scrap dealer who bought used car bodies and sent them to Fiat for recycling. [4] Pigozzi was appointed General Agent for Fiat in France two years later, and SAFAF (Société Anonyme Française des Automobiles Fiat) was established in 1926. At 1928, SAFAF began assembling Fiat vehicles in Suresnes, close to Paris, and granted local suppliers a manufacture license for a few components. SAFAF sold as much as 30,000 Fiat automobiles by 1934.