BARCELONA, Spain, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Santana Motors, the Spanish 4x4 automaker that once made the legendary Land Rover Santana and Suzuki Santana models, has a new lease of life thanks to an alliance with Chinese-owned firms Zhengzhou Nissan and Anhui Coronet.
The joint venture officially made public in a ceremony in China last week will produce off-road vehicles at the historic Santana Factory in Linares in the south of Spain, which closed in 2011 after the company ran into financial difficulties.
The technical teams of the three companies have jointly developed a new all-terrain model, which offers a choice of diesel and advanced plug-in hybrid powertrains that is based on Santana Motors' traditional values of robustness, performance, and off-road capability.
"This agreement represents a firm step toward smart reindustrialization in Europe, and especially in Spain. The legendary Santana brand, which has meant so much to the country's industrial development, is reborn with even greater strength to face the challenges of the future. We will soon see vehicles rolling out of the Santana Factory in Linares," Valentine Rouss, board member and CMO of Santana Motors, told Xinhua on Thursday.
No date has yet been given for the official launch of the new 4x4 model, but Santana Motors says that in the coming months it will unveil an "innovative range of vehicles" designed to appeal to off-road enthusiasts.
The mayor of Linares, Auxi del Olmo, expressed her satisfaction over the agreement, which will increase business activity at the Santana Science and Technology Park: "This international agreement will bring more industrial and technological activity to this space, which is already generating employment and a future for Linares."
The Linares City Council said that the project to adapt the facilities the company will occupy has been completed in the Santana Science and Technology Park and that the joint venture will create some 200 jobs.
