page_title: ARO
section_title: Privatization
hierarchical_section_title: ARO / History / Privatization
caption_attribution_description: English: Aro 10 Super Rally in Dracula Rally Raid 2008
context_page_description: ARO 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 Hisparo and Portaro, respectively. In Italy, AROs were produced by Ali Ciemme 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.
context_section_description: In 1998 a Cuban-born American businessman, John Perez, offered franchise agreements to US auto dealers. Some 200 dealers paid $75,000 each for franchise rights, for a total of $15 million. These rights were offered by a company called East European Imports.  The ARO was offered as a Warsaw Pact surplus military vehicle.  After the franchises were sold, dealers were pressured to send cashier's checks or wire transfers to start receiving vehicles that were allegedly being held in a port in Florida. Dealers refused and insisted to pay upon delivery which eventually led to East European Imports closing its doors.
  In September 2003 the Romanian state sold 68.7% of ARO to Cross Lander, a company owned by John Perez, for $180,000 US. The contract stipulated that the company had to invest $2 million US, which allegedly never took place. Instead, all of ARO's production tooling and equipment were sold off; this was an action which violated the privatization contract. The Romanian state sued John Perez in 2006 for falsifying documents in order to acquire the company.
  It was planned to enter the US market with the ARO 244 as the Cross Lander 244X, but funding ran out in February 2006. The company Cross Lander USA Inc fired all its employees, sold its headquarters and closed down in February 2006.
  ARO went into bankruptcy in June 2006.
caption: Cross-country ARO 10 Super Rally in Dracula Rally Raid, 2008
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