Buncrana-made vehicle makes return home after four decades

In 1981 the most famous vehicle produced in Ireland was the DeLorean DMC-12, the short-lived supercar made in Belfast for just over a year in 1981 and 1982.

But at the same time, Donegal it seemed was on the cusp of coming onto the motor manufacturing map, when German company Auto Montan Werkes (ATW) came up with plans to build an all-terrain utility vehicle, the Chico, in Buncrana.

ATW selected Buncrana as the site for manufacture thanks to backing from the Industrial Development Agency (IDA).

The planned investment of almost £17m was hoped to create employment of up to 1,000. ATW had identified a substantial market for the Chico truck, particularly in the Third World.

The vehicle was the result of 11 years of development by the German aerospace firm Messerschmitt, Bolkow, Blohm (MBB).

Some of the models had amphibious capabilities and it was mostly to be used in agriculture or forestry. It was belived the Chico would rival the Land Rover as it had a bigger payload, was thought to be more economical to run and was cheaper to purchase.

Reports at the time said the IDA had identified a potential market of 300,000 vehicles in commercial and agricultural areas of Europe alone. 

Production at the Buncrana factory was to increase to between 15,000 and 18,000 vehicles a year by 1986. 

In the end, fewer than 100 people would work at the factory in Buncrana. When it closed its doors in 1984, no more than 150 Chicos had been produced in Inishowen. The site in Buncrana would later be taken over by textile manufacturer Fruit of the Loom.

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Crana Engineering was one of the local companies that benefited from the opening of the factory, supplying components for the Chico.

George O’Hara of the firm said the company has been trying to purchase a Chico for the last five or six years but had been only able to identify “seven or eight or ten” surviving vehicles.  Last week he and his brother Noel returned a Chico to Donegal after purchasing one in Germany that had come on to the market.  He believes it is one of only three in Ireland.

“There is one in South America, one in South Africa and there’s a few about Europe, but there’s not many around. There are only three in the country, with one in Limerick and one in Louth, that we know of. We have been looking for one for years and years.

“We are delighted to get it. It is a wee bit of local history and a lot of people in their 50s and over would remember it.”

The Chico is “in particularly good shape”, George said, and as it has passed its German road-worthy test it could be making appearances at vintage car rallies or St Patrick’s Day parades soon.

“We just bought it to preserve history and to keep it as a classic vehicle.”