The Avia 2000 was a light truck of the Spanish Avia, the commercial vehicle brand of the Madrid aircraft company AISA. It belonged to the smallest class of a range that grew from the Avia 2500 of 1961 to models of 7,000 kg payload in 1973, all powered by Perkins diesel engines.
Avia 2000 at a glance
| Maker | Aeronáutica Industrial S.A. (AISA), Madrid |
|---|---|
| Brand | Avia (Spain) |
| Class | light end of the range; models were designated by payload in kg |
| Range | models of 1500, 2500, 3500, 4000 and 6500 kg by 1969 |
| Engines | Perkins Hispania diesel |
| Cab | designed by Pedro Serra, built by Bosuga |
| Licensed production | Setúbal, Portugal (SODAG), from 1964 |
| Export brand | Alas |
| Last Avia truck sold | 1984 |
Based on one source: the Spanish Wikipedia article on the Spanish Avia (AISA). It lists the Serie 2000 in the model range but gives no separate technical data for the 2000, so this page describes the range the model belonged to.
History of the Avia 2000
The Spanish Avia was a different company from the Czechoslovak Avia. It was the vehicle brand of Aeronáutica Industrial S.A. (AISA), an aircraft firm at Cuatro Vientos in Madrid that grew out of the Talleres J. Loring founded in 1923. AISA began building industrial vehicles under the Avia name in 1957, starting with the Avia 200 motocarro, a 197 cc three-wheeler with a 500 kg payload.
The first proper truck, the Avia 2500 with a 61 hp Perkins diesel and a cab by Pedro Serra, was presented in 1960 and built from 1961. The range then expanded downwards and upwards: the Spanish Wikipedia lists the Serie 2000 among the Avia models, and by 1969, with the arrival of the 6500, the company was producing vehicles of 1500, 2500, 3500, 4000 and 6500 kg payload. All used Perkins Hispania diesel engines and the same approach to cab and chassis design.
The light end of the range
The Avia 2000 sat at the light end of this programme, below the 2500 that opened the truck range. In 1973 AISA added a model of 7,000 kg payload, and the range eventually covered the Series 1000 to 8000.
The Avia 2000 sat at the light end of this programme, below the 2500 that opened the truck range. Vehicles of this class were sold for local distribution and light haulage, and could be ordered with different bodies on a conventional chassis. In 1973 AISA added a model of 7,000 kg payload, and the range eventually covered the Series 1000 to 8000.
From 1964 the vehicles were also built under licence in Setúbal, Portugal, by SODAG, and outside Spain they were sold under the Alas brand to avoid confusion with the Czechoslovak Avia. In the mid-1970s AISA associated with Motor Ibérica, the maker of Ebro vehicles, and Avia became a second brand of Ebro; the last truck with the Avia badge was sold in 1984.
Design and features
- Light payload class: the 2,000 kg segment below the Avia 2500.
- Perkins diesel: the engine family used across the Spanish Avia range.
- Serra cab: the cab design shared with the larger models of the range.
- Export brand: sold as Alas abroad and built in Portugal by SODAG from 1964.
Avia 2000 versions
- Avia 2000: the light model of the Spanish range.
- Serie 2000: the series under which the light Avia models were catalogued.
- Range models: the 2500, 3500, 4000, 6500 and, from 1973, the 7000.
The first truck of the range was the Avia 2500, and the largest model of the 1970s is described in Avia 7000. More models are in the Avia collection.
Sources
- Avia (automóviles), Spanish Wikipedia: company history, model series, engines, range
