The mobility company Alsa today celebrates its first centenary since the foundation of Automóviles Luarca, S.A., in the village of Luarca (Asturias), on 20 April 1923.

To celebrate this key date, the company has planned an extensive programme with many activities for 2023, starting at the last edition of Fitur followed by several events held in Granada, Madrid and in Asturias and other cities, including the exhibition of historical vehicles of the company that have been restored to celebrate this centenary.

The company has also produced a commemorative book under the title Since 1923, wherever you want to go, tracing the history of the company over the last 100 years, in parallel with the history of the passenger road transport industry in Spain. The book also includes a collective reflection on the future of mobility, with the collaboration of many external and internal experts.

The authors – Professor of Economic History and Institutions at the University of Oviedo, Joaquín Ocampo, and the journalist Rodrigo Cepeda - provided a comprehensive review of Alsa history since it was created by a local group of entrepreneurs in Luarca, who invested a social capital of 700,000 pesetas.

Since it was established in 1923, Automóviles Luarca was gradually becoming a benchmark company in the passenger transport industry of Asturias, growing through the acquisition of other small companies in the industry. Despite the great difficulties faced on the Civil War and post-War periods, the company continued its growing trend, with a key milestone in 1960 when the Cosmen Company merged with Alsa, and Jose Cosmen Adelaida got onboard the management team of the company.

From Asturias to China

From that moment onwards and over the next decades, the company saw a constant expansion, both at national and international level. In 1964 it started the regular service between Asturias and Madrid, and one year later, it was operated the first international service between Oviedo, Paris and Brussels, partially driven by the Spanish migration.

The 70´s and the 80´s were key for the expansion of Alsa, with the consolidation of the route network across several areas of Spain and it was implemented in several autonomous regions.

The next years provided a sustained growth path through which Alsa became the largest company in the industry in Spain, along with a strong international expansion, highlighting the landing in China in 1984 and becoming the first foreign company authorised to operate in the industry.

In the 1990s, Alsa´s growth in Spain was boosted by the winning of new contracts in tenders and acquisitions, including the company Turytrans in Cantabria and Fernandez in Leon, and in 1999 the Enatcar company was acquired, consolidating its leadership at the national level. That year, the company started operations in Morocco, and today it is the leading urban transport company in the country.

In 2005, Alsa was integrated in National Express Group, an multi-modal operator present in the United Kingdom, North America and Canada, and in 2008 Continental Auto was purchased, an operation that would confirm its national leadership.

A global mobility company

The small-sized bus company that started operating 100 years ago in Luarca has become a global company providing sustainable, multi-modal and connected mobility in Spain, and outside of our borders, in Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland and France.

For Jorge Cosmen, Alsa Chairman, celebrating this centenary “is a proud reminder of our past, but also a time to reflect about how we want to face the challenges ahead. Our history is made by people who, through their extraordinary contribution, helped Alsa to become today´s benchmarking company in the the mobility area. And that´s why I would like to commend the work and exemplary effort made by all people preceding us, otherwise this anniversary would have not been celebrated.”

“I would also like to thank all our customers, placed at the heart of our company, for their trust year after year to perform their journeys. I am sure this first centenary will be an inspiration for all of us to face the challenges ahead in the terms of mobility, sustainability and protection of our environment”. 

Currently, Alsa has a fleet with 5,600 buses and a staff of 16,000 professionals, who last year provided service to 553 million passengers. The company also wanted to celebrate this centenary with them by offering 100,000 seats for 10 Euros to travel over the next few months.

View the commemorative book