
Maquinaria y Elementos de Transporte, were better known as Maquitrans (and eventually just MT). They had been established in the 1940s to adapt old buses for use as trolleybuses to compensate for the inevitable fuel shortages that arose after the Spanish Civil War. Located on Carrer Luchana, Barcelona between 1941-1949 they produced 40 trolley buses, both single and double decker.
From 1950, they diversified to produce motor scooters and three-wheel motocarros. These were powered by a single cylinder, 175cc, 2 stroke, 7 hp engine which, on the motocarro, was mounted in front of the single rear wheel in a mid-engine design.

This 1954 prototype was displayed at an Exhibition in Gironella (Catalonia) in 2023
Further diversification came in 1957 with a prototype microcar that was based on the motocarro chassis. The handlebars were replaced by a steering wheel and the open body had enough space for two people. The first prototype has been preserved. It was taken as the basis for the definitive model, after adding a complete fairing to the rear of the engine, leaving all the mechanics hidden. About 20 units were made of the final model, of which only the prototype is known to have survived.

In 1958 the company entered a joint venture with Cliper, a Barcelona importer of Italian Ducati motorcycles and formed Mototrans. Dedicated to the manufacture of Ducati motorcycles for the Spanish market, Mototrans survived until 1982 and is subject to a separate chapter.


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