Until 1995, Nissan was produced in Greece

Although in the early 1960s, relatively close to Bulgaria, and more precisely - in the Greek city of Volos, one of the first official Datsun and Nissan dealerships in Europe was opened, at that time Japanese cars were still a distant and unknown Asian exotic among Bulgarian car enthusiasts. The situation did not change much in the early 1980s, when one of the first Nissan assembly plants in Europe was put into operation in the immediate vicinity of us. It was built by the powerful Theocarakis Group consortium, which began its activities as a small company for the sale of auto accessories and fuels, established by Nikolaos Theocarakis in 1924 in Piraeus. The business developed very successfully and shortly before the start of World War II Theocarakis was already the largest importer of automotive spare parts in Greece. In 1937, he established a factory for the production of automobile brakes and upholstery, and at the same time also owned a motor transport agency with a large bus fleet. Soon after the end of the war, he entered the tire business, and in 1957 he became the exclusive distributor for Greece of the Yokohama Rubber Company. In 1959, this led to the creation of the first joint-stock company, Theocarakis SA, whose main activity was related to the distribution of Yokohama tires filtru aer mann-filter pret.

Until 1995, Nissan was produced in Greece

A milestone in the history of the group was 1961, when Nikolas Theocarakis and his two sons, Ioannis and Vasilis, who had been actively involved in the family business since an early age, became official representatives of Nissan in Greece, thus becoming the first representatives of the Japanese brand in Europe. The new automotive trading company they created was called Nic. J. Theocarakis SA.

Thanks to their exceptional reliability, high quality and competitive prices, Nissan cars and pickup trucks (at that time still sold under the Datsun brand) became particularly in demand on the Greek market.

As a result, in 1976 the company TEOCAR Ltd. was established, which began the production of cargo platforms for Datsun light-duty models, and for this purpose a modern plant was built on the site of the old brake factory in Athens. Soon after, TEOCAR Ltd became the main industrial company of the group and in 1978 the construction of a large assembly plant began in the industrial zone of Volos, and TEOCAR Ltd. was transformed into a joint-stock company with 100% Greek capital. During this period, Theocarakis Group became one of the largest industrial and commercial groups in Greece.

The first car rolled off the assembly line in February 1980 and the plant operated until 1995, when the economic conditions of the automotive market changed drastically and it was forced to cease operations. During this period, 170,000 passenger cars and pickup trucks were produced, consolidating Nissan's successful presence in the Greek automotive market, and positioning it at the top for 14 consecutive years after 1979.

In 1982, the company, TECOM SA, was established, whose factory, located near that of TEOCAR in Volos, specialized in the production of car seats and metal components and parts.

TECOM and TEOCAR currently operate a photovoltaic plant in the Volos region, which has been producing electricity since 2007.

Car parts AutoPower
Car parts AutoPower

A milestone in the history of the group was 1961, when Nikolas Theocarakis and his two sons, Ioannis and Vasilis, who had been actively involved in the family business since an early age, became official representatives of Nissan in Greece, thus becoming the first representatives of the Japanese brand in Europe

Thanks to their exceptional reliability, high quality and competitive prices, Nissan cars and pickup trucks (at that time still sold under the Datsun brand) became particularly in demand on the Greek market