The legendary car factory such as Torino, Renault 12 and Fire turns 70

The Santa Isabel Cordoba factory today celebrates its 70 years of uninterrupted production In the country. Marked by great milestones and cradle of unforgettable models that fell in love with Argentinescurrently offers the widest range of national production vehicles.

Santa Isabel is the second oldest active plant in Argentina, behind the industrial complex that Mercedes-Benz raised in Virrey del Pino, province of Buenos Aires, in 1951. Although the German brand has just sold its operations in the country, including its factory.

From 1955 to the present they left Santa Isabel More than 3.5 million vehicles of 34 different modelsmany of which became true national icons, such as the stagnant IKA, El Torino, the Renault 12 and the Fire Cup, among others.

Created on the outskirts of Córdoba, this factory was one of the great promoters of the industry; First as industries Kaiser Argentina (IKA), then as Ika-Renault, and since 1975 (when the French brand acquired the entire shareholding package of society) as Renault.

It should be noted that there was a period of its rich history, promptly between 1992 and 1997, in which the French automaker was represented by the Inter -American Cars Company SA (Ciadaea SA), a local group that acquired the company and took over the industrialization and sale of vehicles.

In addition to rhombus models, during that period two pickups (C-10 and Silverado) and a 4×4 (Grand Blazer) of Chevrolet were made.

On March 12, 1955, on the premises of Santa Isabel, the fundamental stone was placed, specifying the site of IKA.

For its construction, 4,900,000 kilos of steel were needed, 2,000,000 bricks and 9,800,000 kilos of cement. To transport the 9,000 tons of teams from the United States, they were made 600 truck trips From Buenos Aires to Córdoba

Several of the models that left the Cordoba plant were true icons of the national industry. The extensive list began in 1956 with the Jeep IKA And he continued a year later with the Stagnanta utility that is still seen in rural areas and interior streets.

The cadence continued with a new model per year: the sumptuous Kaiser Carabelathe utilitarian Bakeanthe little ones Dauphine y Gordini, The median Brigthe luxurious Ramblerthe Pickup Gladiator and Multifaceted Renault 4.

Then, with a little more space between one and the other, the Torinoand the Renault 6, 12, 18, fire, 11, traffic… and the list continues.

Already in the 90s, with the birth of Clioin 1995, the company entered a process of transformation and modernization, thanks to large investments in its facilities.

The assembly sector, for example, an integrated and flexible technology was designed, which allowed to face several models on the same line with a very high manufacturing cadence. From there, later the Mega.

As of 2015, the factory lived a deep process of transformation-both technological level as on a cultural level-comparable to that of the best plants of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance around the world.

In that context, in recent years the latest technologies of the “Industry 4.0” have been incorporated into its production process.

With more than 120 built -in robots, guided cars automatically, tablets in the operators’ jobs, Virtual reality formations and 3D printersthe factory sought to evolve and be at the forefront of technology applied to the industry.

Also, in recent years, a regional engineering pole was settled at the plant where more than 200 people work providing the engineering service for the entire America region, and also for global projects.

In 2023, the Santa Isabel factory, where around 2,200 collaborators currently worked, produced more than 70 thousand units.

At present, more than 400 vehicles per day are produced at the plant, taking into account five Renault models (Sandero, Stepway, Logan, Kangoo (passenger and van versions) and Alaskan) and the Nissan Frontier pickup.

To these numbers is added the announcement that was made last year where the industrialization of a half ton pickup was confirmed by Renault in 2026.

1- Santa Isabel Factory was the starting point of the historic Argentine mission that led three Torino to compete in the 84 hours of Nürburgring in 1969, in a team that was led by Oreste Berta in the preparation of vehicles.

The quantuple world champion of Formula 1, Juan Manuel Fangio, was the sports director of the team in charge of the nine Argentine pilots who went to represent the country in that epic of the motor sport.

2- In this symbol of the Argentine industry, the “mobile pope” was also manufactured with which John Paul II toured Argentina on his second visit to the country in 1987.

The vehicle was conceived from a Renault Traffic and adapted to the comfort and transportation needs for the maximum representative of the Catholic Church in the world. In total, three units were built, which were used in Argentina and then in Brazil.

3- The Renault plant in Córdoba is a symbol of the inclusion of women in the industry. Since 2017, production positions began to populate with women, who today occupy 21% of the total collaborators of the factory, at all levels and performing the most diverse tasks.