You may think that Spain doesn’t have much of a car industry. There is Seat of course, but the cars are by no means Spanish by nature. They are merely Volkswagens built to a lower level, much like Škoda in the Czech Republic. Even before the VW merger, Seats were re-badged Fiats for the Spanish market.

But in fact, several automotive brands existed in Spain in the early days of motoring. And the most notable of them all was Hispano Suiza. During their time, along with brands like Rolls-Royce, they produced some of the most desirable cars you could get.

Here is the story of a fascinating manufacturer that, just recently, has made an electrified comeback.

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The Origins Of Hispano Suiza

Translated literally to Spanish-Swiss, Hispano Suiza was originally founded in 1904 by Damián Mateu and Francisco Seix along with a group of industrialists. They made their mark by producing the 40CV models and even the first six-cylinder car produced in Spain.

The cars proved popular among customers who preferred a finer quality to the newly found automobile, after the Benz Patent Motorwagen started a revolution.

In 1910, as a result of a strike and the greater availability of raw materials, qualified labor, and ease of export, a second factory was subsequently built near Paris. This created the French division of Hispano Suiza which would go on to create a large…