ARO (short for Auto Romania) was a Romanian off-road vehicle manufacturer located in Câmpulung. The first ARO vehicles were produced in 1957, and the last in 2003. For a short while, Daihatsu-powered AROs were sold in Spain and produced in Portugal under the brands. In Italy, AROs were produced and sold under the ACM brand, often fitted with Volkswagen engines. Low volume production of ARO vehicles has restarted under the aegis of a Czech company called Auto Max Czech (AMC). During the mid-2000s, Russian manufacturer Derways used ARO chassis to produce its Derways Cowboy model. History The first factory in Câmpulung was built during the Second World War, under orders from Marshal Ion Antonescu, starting 1942. The facility was initially meant to produce airscrews, being an extension of the Romanian aircraft manufacturer IAR. After the war, this factory formed the base for ARO. The beginning ARO manufactured over 380,000 vehicles, 2/3 of which were exported to some 110 countries on five continents (before 1989 about 90% of the ARO production was exported). AROs were also produced in Brazil, Italy, and Portugal (Portaro) often under another brandname. ARO vehicles were also produced for Spain and marketed under the name Hisparo managed by the company Enasa. Production started in 1957 with the IMS-57, which was the first model of the IMS Series, produced under a GAZ-69 license. In 1959 the IMS-57 model was replaced by the M59, followed by a new model in 1964 called the M461. Though its styling and design were based on its predecessors, the M461 had clearly distinguishable features also boasting fit and finish improvements fitted with redesigned mechanicals. In 1972 ARO successfully launched a ground-up redesign as their new family of models, the 24 Series which eventually included many models and configurations. The ARO 24 Series got a "little brother" in 1980, the 10 Series, also produced in many body trims with different engines and in both 4x2 and 4x4 variants. ARO engines and other technology was also utilized in T.V. light commercial vehicles. Armored variant The ABI (Autovehicul Blindat pentru Intervenție) armored car was built on the ARO chassis, using an ARO engine. Seventeen such vehicles were produced in 1979 and were used for internal security duties. Their armor ranged from 4 to 10 mm and they were equipped with a turret that housed a 7.92 mm PK machine gun, or a 12.7 mm DShK heavy