The Avia 7000 was the heaviest model of the Spanish Avia range, added in 1973. It took the Madrid company AISA into the 7-tonne payload class, above the 1500 to 6500 kg models that had made up the range until then.
Avia 7000 at a glance
| Maker | Aeronáutica Industrial S.A. (AISA), Madrid |
|---|---|
| Brand | Avia (Spain) |
| Introduced | 1973 |
| Payload class | 7,000 kg |
| Range before 1973 | 1500, 2500, 3500, 4000 and 6500 kg |
| Series | Serie 7000 |
| Engines | Perkins Hispania diesel |
| Export brand | Alas |
| Last Avia truck sold | 1984 |
Based on one source: the Spanish Wikipedia article on the Spanish Avia (AISA). It records the 1973 introduction of the 7,000 kg model and lists the Serie 7000, but gives no separate technical data for it.
History of the Avia 7000
The Spanish Avia was the commercial vehicle brand of AISA, an aircraft company at Cuatro Vientos in Madrid that began building vehicles in 1957. Its first trucks were the 2500 of 1961 and the 3500 of 1962, both with Perkins diesel engines, and the range grew through the 1960s until it covered models of 1500, 2500, 3500, 4000 and 6500 kg payload with the arrival of the 6500.
In 1973 AISA added a model of 7,000 kg, the heaviest in the range and the one that gave its name to the Serie 7000. The Spanish Wikipedia lists the Serie 7000 among the Avia models, between the Serie 6000 and the Serie 8000, and the 1973 vehicle was the first Avia in this payload class.
The end of the Spanish Avia
The 7000 arrived late in the life of the marque. In the mid-1970s AISA associated with Motor Ibérica, the maker of Ebro vehicles, which supplied engines and cabs and gradually turned Avia into a second brand sold through independent dealers. When Nissan bought Motor Ibérica in the 1980s the Avia name disappeared from the new management’s plans, and the last truck with the Avia badge was sold in 1984.
Outside Spain the Spanish Avia was sold under the Alas brand, to avoid confusion with the Czechoslovak Avia, and from 1964 the vehicles were also built under licence in Setúbal, Portugal, by SODAG.
Design and features
- Heaviest Spanish Avia: the 7,000 kg payload class added in 1973.
- Serie 7000: the series name used for the model in the Avia catalogue.
- Perkins diesel: the engine family used across the range.
- Short life: the model appeared only a few years before the marque was absorbed by Ebro and then dropped by Nissan.
Avia 7000 versions
- Avia 7000 (1973): the original 7,000 kg model.
- Serie 7000: the catalogue series it belonged to, listed between the Serie 6000 and Serie 8000.
The earlier heavy model was the Avia 3500, and the light end of the range is described in Avia 2000. More models are in the Avia collection.
Sources
- Avia (automóviles), Spanish Wikipedia: 1973 model, model series, company history
