Alas —it's a new Spanish van
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The Belgian market has attracted a third Spanish vehicle manufacturer — after Ebro and Pegaso — with the introduction recently of the Alas (Spanish wings) range of middleweights. Better known as Avia in the country of origin but renamed to avoid conflict with existing Belgian trade marks, the Alas range includes five basic chassis/cab models for payloads from 2.5 to 7 tonnes and gvw from 5 to 11 tonnes.
A new 11/4-tonne payload carrier is being added next year and this will also be sold in Belgium. Produced since 1 958 by Aeronautics Industrial SA — AISA — a company originally founded in 1923 to build light aircraft, Avia vehicles now account for 38 per cent of all Spanish registrations between 1 and 7 tonnes payload. The extension of sales to other European countries, commencing with Belgium, follows overseas export activities in Africa and South America, One of the principal features of Avia/Alas vehicles is the use of bolted chassis frames to facilitate low cost replacement of damaged parts. Spanish-built Perkins engines are the standard power unit, with the 4.154 in the three lower weight vehicles, the 4.236 in the 5-tonner and the 6.354 six-cylinder diesel fitted to the 7 tonnes payload vehicle. Of particular interest in a market already shared by several European volume producers is the availability of three factory-built Alas van models on the type 2500 base. The vans have a capacity of 10.6 cu m or 12.6 cu m on a wheelbase of 2.5m or of 15 cu m in a high roof version with a clear headroom of 1.85m on a wheelbase of 3m.