Kaisis Motor Company is a vehicle manufacturer in Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

, in business between 1973 and the late 1980s. The branding takes after the name of the founder, Andreas Kaisis, a local entrepreneur. KMC manufactured (in most cases assembled) trucks, buses, and many speciality vehicles such as ambulances, fire engines and airport vehicles (eg mobile stair vehicles). The first models were based on British Dennis

Dennis Specialist Vehicles

Dennis Specialist Vehicles is a major British coachbuilder and manufacturer of specialised commercial vehicles based in Guildford, England...

models.

In 1974 the company started producing trucks based on Commer

Commer

Commer became known in later years as a maker of vans for the British Post Office—particularly the Commer FC which was introduced in 1960 with many body styles, including a 1500 cc van. After engine and interior upgrades it was renamed the PB in 1967 and the SpaceVan in 1974...

, Dodge and M.A.N. designs. The company produced several other vehicle types, including a number of van and bus designs (such as the Commer/Dodge PB SpaceVan series, the Dodge Walk-thru van range and the Dodge Commando series) and a 6x6 military truck. It also ventured into the 4x4 market with several unsuccessful models (some based on Romanian ARO

ARO

ARO was a Romanian off-road vehicle manufacturer located in Câmpulung-Muscel. The first ARO vehicles were produced in 1957, and the last in 2003. For a short while, Daihatsu-powered AROs were produced in Spain and Portugal under the brands Hisparo and Portaro, respectively...

 models). Beyond the small Cypriot market, KMC sold its vehicles to over 20 countries, mostly in the Middle East.

Of note was the company’s purchase (in 1974) of the blueprints to the Clan

Clan (car)

The Clan Crusader was a fibreglass monocoque British sports car based on running gear from the Hillman Imp Sport, including its Coventry Climax derived, rear-mounted 875 cc engine. It was first made in Washington, Co Durham, England, between 1971 and 1974, but since then several efforts have...

 sports car, designed by a team of former Lotus

Lotus Cars

Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...

 engineers, with plans to set up an assembly line in KMC’s new factory near Nicosia International Airport

Nicosia International Airport

Nicosia International Airport is a largely disused airport located to the west of the Cypriot capital city of Nicosia. It was originally the main airport for the island, but commercial activity ceased following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974...

. This activity was cut short after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus

Turkish invasion of Cyprus

The Turkish invasion of Cyprus, launched on 20 July 1974, was a Turkish military invasion in response to a Greek military junta backed coup in Cyprus...

in 1974 when the new factory was caught in the buffer zone and thus had to be evacuated. The factory sits vacant to this day.