The Automobile Assembly Industry in Portugal (1960-1988)1
Giving with one hand and taking away with the other: the automobile assembly industry in Portugal (1960-1988)1 • MARIA LUÍSA SOUSA Universidade Nova de Lisboa • MARIA PAULA DIOGO Universidade Nova de Lisboa Introduction In this article on the history of the Portuguese automobile industry, we aim to analyse a less tackled issue related specifically to the assemblage pro- cess, and not to the original equipment manufacturers (OEM) . In the post- war period, as automobiles became widespread, the idea of a national auto- mobile industry became more and more attractive, even for peripheral countries, whose industrial development was embryonic . Multinational auto- mobile manufacturers (OEMs) invested in these developing countries through direct foreign investment and grant licenses . This was a generalised practice in the second half of the twentieth century . In 1965, the trademarks of manufac- turers from the seven major countries2 were assembled in 53 countries, exclud- ing the original ones, in 350 industrial installations; in 1981, these numbers had risen to 90 and 620 respectively .3 In turn, the hosting (developing) coun- tries implemented a set of economic and legal measures to ensure national participation, such as customs barriers to the free importation of complete vehicles (CBU) .4 They also encouraged the importation of completely knocked 1 . The work presented here was developed from two research projects, both funded by the Portuguese Science and Technology Council: «WorTiS, Work Systems, Time and Space in the Automobile Industry» and «Development and Technology Transfer in the Portuguese Automobile Industry, (1960-1990)» . 2 . Great Britain, France, Western Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the USA .
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