Public Local Automotives

The Public Local Automotives Company (otherwise known as PLA)(FTSE and HSE 100: PLA) is a Histalian Automotive manufacturer which was founded in 1910 originally as army automobiles and weaponry used for battle in WW1. It is currently Histalpol's only official domestic automotive manufacturer, as well as the largest company in whole in Histalpol. In 2011, PLA held over 33% of the domestic car market and almost 80% of Histalian cars, with successful models such as the Noble Range which is the top end of the sales and the famous Boxy which is a super-mini and was remade in 2010, a rise of over 20% since the end of The Black Depression in 2002, the largest rise of 16% occurring after 2008.

As the makers of the Boxy in 1972, which went on to become Histalpol (and many other European nations around the Mediterranean) best selling car, and if not then the next best seller throughout the 70s and early 80s. The company went close to bankruptcy during the Black Depression but was revitalised with the isolationist views of the 1990s. It was supported by the governments plan to reintroduce manufacturing into Histalpol. It is currently head-quartered in Baso with it's main factory in the industrial city of Parsonborough. Simeon Butcher is the current chairman and CEO of PLA and the Histalian government owns a 16.5% share of PLA.

The companies primary and core market is Europe and became well known for their role in motor sport with it's success in the Histalpol Touring Car Championship and other major race leagues in Europe.

Before Formation
Before the formation of PLA, it was 2 separate companies which were both war machine based, the first being the most major which was Godstal which started life with Colonel Marvin Godstal of the Histalian 61st Brigade in the first World War who witnessed the use of the newly developed at the time, Renault FT tank, in 1917 towards the end of the war, and managed to create the new Godstal Automotive Weapons and Ammunition Company which created mostly military transport vehicles for personnel and military cargo, but also branched into more newer aspects such as the tank, or the turret gun but less as with.

The 2nd company to be the base company of what PLA was built on was the Defence Auto-mobiles co-operative which was a collective of constructors of more military machinery, but was focussed on the creation of these machines with the use of volunteers who were not fit for service but still wanted to help the advance of Histalian and Allied forced in WW1. The co-operative had the larger in terms of work force and factories for building than Godstal, but less finance and fewer designers of the machines.

Between the World Wars
As the war finished, and both companies became unneeded, Col. Godstal with his Godstal company and the Defence Auto-mobiles co-operative became merged, yet the years coming out of the wars were harsh with volunteers leaving the job and factories previously owned being bought off the company. The name was chosen as Godstal, for the first run of the company now known as PLA after the war efforts of Col. Godstal and his Brigade.

With low volunteers and the aftermath of the depression on the American and most of the European markets, Godstal started off with no new products, only existing army grade off-road vehicles, being refitted for use by farmers for rugged vehicles for traversing rough terrain on farm lands and also making them easy to restyle to make into trucks, just like many Ford Model Ts were re-purposed into farming and even industrial use trucks.

The post 1st World War vehicles of Godstal had a distinctive front shape of a domed top with a curved front, the grill being either side of the curve instead of right in front. This shape continued in every vehicle Godstal created since the 1920s to earlt 1930s when all Godstal cars had a radiator and grill at the front.

World War II and aftermath
By the outbreak of WWII, Godstal which was based on mainland Histalpol in Baso, was one of the only producers of mechanised weaponry such as turret guns and army transport machines. They were the figure-head of the industrial support needed in WWII by citizens. The government at the time from 1936 when the World War officially started commissioned Godstal for the production of the weaponry and get an initiative scheme started to get everybody working the with war effort by 1940 when the new government would be elected in.

After the loss to the Nazis in 1941 which lead to the capturing of the main island of Histalpol, The government closed down 2 factories on the coast of Histalpol out of fear of capture, and moved their operations closer to the Histalpol/England border. They also requested they worked with the Minister of Defence at the time, Harold Sheryld, to create light yet strong and crucially, quicker, tanks. After 3 years of work in 1944, the Godstal Manza vII was released which was quickest in the battle-field, but was pulled from service a year later just after the war ended because of engine problems, which was not fully dealt with until 1957.

After the end of WWII, with the war over and Histalpol reeling from the occupation of the main island, the company abandoned their old main factory in Baso and moved it permanently to Parsonborough because of the closure of factories along the coast in WWII, where the factories were under threat. 3 years later in 1948 that they made the Godstal Ambassador and then a year later released the equally popular and famous Godstal Mariner.

Between World War II and the Black Depression
After WWII in 1953, Colonel Marvin Godstal passed away from natural causes, being at 62 years-of-age. He passed down the Godstal motor company to his son, Brandon Godstal, in his will who then changed the company name from Godstal to it's current name of the Public Local Automotives, as a part of a scheme to re-invent the company to seem more commercial friendly, including getting rid of it's army vehicles or reinventing them into 4x4s and People Carriers. The rights for the tank production were sold off to another company outside of Histalpol where they would be manufactured out of country. Brandon hired the current CEO and then closest friend Simeon Butcher to be the Co-owner of the company and simultaneously opened up 3 new factories in just over 2 years.

On the 18th of September 1986 Brandon Godstal, the only surviving relative to Col. Godstal (not counting siblings from Col. Godstal's ex-partners), died from a car accident when driving his Martano which was the first sports car that the company made and only 2 years old from the factory floor. The crash occurred on an B-Road between his home in Ballington, Monkswell and the county capital of Rénne when he took a corner too fast in his Martano and collided driver's side-on with a Leyland Atlantean bus heading back to Ballington. After his death, his wife at the time, Nicole Greenwold, asked for Simeon Butcher to continue the company in his honour. Officially, Simeon's position of CEO came little after a year after Brandon's death in 1988 because of depression therapy for the loss of his closest friend and co-incidentally the break-up of his own marriage in 1986 that lead him to severe alcoholism. In this time between 1986 and 1988, temporary control fell on the wife, Nicole Greenwold, who considered selling off the company to one of the French automotive makers such as Citroen, Renault and Peugeot, but decided against it as the sentimental value was too large and the fact that Butcher still technically owned the company.

In this rough time between 1986 and 1988, no new cars were produced and work ground to a halt. The company fell on rough times and stocks plummeted. Only when the introduction of a new Boxy in 1990 (original in 1972), did the company start to improve in profits, but as the Black Depression set on before it's official start in 1992, with the importing of more foreign built cars, the profit margins increased at an agonisingly slow rate before totally freezing in 1991.

During the Black Depression
At the start of the Black Depression in 1992, with imports from foreign companies dominating the market, such as Renault, Toyota and Fontane, the profits for the PLA was dwindling along with other Histalian companies. In this time frame they made no new public cars apart from advancing previous makes when possible, and had limited publicity apart from racing in the Histalian Touring Car Championships. Although the join into racing was the only advertising the company had from 1992-1994, as the isolationist era started in Histalpol meant that more publicity would be possible, their racing campaigns gained notoriety for winning the HTCC, continuing way after the profit picked up with the isolationist technique with PLA winning for an entire era from 1992-2003.

When the company got back on stable feet. They started to churn out on average 5 new cars per year, these including the famous Pillarro, the Blink and also started their move into super-cars with the likes of the Razor.

Modern Days
In 2013, PLA have announced their first off-shore branch with a factory and showroom in Riyadh. This would create over 500 jobs for the local economy in Riyadh and will produce both the Sport Cars and the Noble Range of cars. With this the HSE 100 stocks on the PLA had risen as well as extending the market to Riyadh and the Middle East which before then had been untouched by Histalian companies.

Corporate governance
The Government of Histalpol owns around 12.7% of the company as of 2012, compared to the 42.5% of the Black Depression. The company is administered by a board of directors composed of 17 members (5 of them being independent). The chief operating officer of the company is Thierry Carlo while George Gwenich is the chief financial officer.

The head office of the PLA is in Baso in the Business District of Westinbrom Creek. The head office is on the original site of the original offices of the start of the PLA in 1953 and has always maintained a historic presence in Baso with the original factory being on the other side of the town near the Naval Yard since 1917, now destroyed.