IASFSA automotive company in Santa Fe. Features of a marginal experience (1959-1969)

Abstract

The automotive industry in Argentina experienced significant changes in the late 50s. Within the new conformation of the sector during the 60s, this paper focuses its interest in IASFSA, a company in which the German firm DKW partnered with local investors to produce cars brand “Auto Union”. This company was installed in Santa Fe Province, participated in the market until 1969, produced about 33,000 vehicles and employed up to 1,500 workers, transforming into one of the most important industries in the central region of the province. Through the company documents, interviews with former employees, national and provincial industrial promotion, magazines and newspapers of the time and specific literature on the automotive industry, the paper aims to describe the different stages of IASFSA since its establishment until its final crisis closed with the sale of its industrial plant to Fiat. In this framework, we try to argue that although IASFSA followed a pattern common to other companies, some specific features related to its geographic location, the composition of his leadership and his trajectory in the market, made this company a unique experience within automotive industry in the 60s.