Autocars Co.

Autocars Co. Ltd. (Hebrew: אוטוקרס‎) of Haifa, Israel, was founded in the 1950s as Israel's first car manufacturer (there was an earlier manufacturer who assembled American cars in Haifa bay, Kaiser-Frazer). Among their popular models were the Sussita (סוסיתא), Carmel (כרמל) and Gilboa (גלבוע) (a number of Carmels were also produced in Greece by Attica). They also assembled Hino Contessas and the superficially similar British Triumph cars from kits in the late 1960s. The Triumph lineup included at least the Triumph 1300, although originally only with a 1500 engine as the 1300 was considered too close to the 1.3 litre Contessa. The company was bought by Rom Carmel Industries in 1974, after Autocars was placed in administration in 1971 and the owner, Mr. Yitzhak Shubinsky, was forced to resign. It was bought four years later by Urdan Industries. Their last full year of production was 1980.

Autocars Ltd made fiberglass-shelled cars that were made popular in Israel during the 1960s and 1970s, perhaps because government agencies were forced to buy them. This released onto the market thousands of low-priced second hand vehicles. Although their style and finish left something to be desired, Autocar's incorporation of Ford and Triumph engines made them reliable cars which kept their value for years. The manufacturing of these cars ceased during the 1980s, and Israel's only remaining car making company today is AIL.