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The Pony was built in Greece by Namco, the Greek Citroën
concessionaire in a factory constructed specifically for the purpose in
Thessalonika.
In 1972, the Pony was introduced at the Thessalonika
Trade Fair,
after an agreement was signed with Citroën. The car had been designed
by Citroën on a 2CV platform as part of a 'basic world car' project
that would eventually lead to the Citroën FAF.
The Pony and Baby
Brousse preceded the FAF and were
not derived from it, notwithstanding similarities in appearance.
In
1974 Namco started production in their new plant in Thessalonika. The
Pony or Pony-Citroën's success was due in no small part to a law which
gave tax breaks for light utility-passenger vehicles. It was also the
lowest priced vehicle in its category and was both robust and practical.
The
car was modified over the years to keep it up to date. Almost 30,000
Ponys were produced and it was exported to many countries around the
world including the USA.
There were two basic versions, an open top vehicle not
unlike the Baby Brousse and a
roofed version similar to the FAF.
This latter vehicle used the mechanical components of
the Dyane 6
and had a welded steel body and was more luxurious and better appointed
than the Baby Brousse version.
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