Page 12 - 60 YEARS NISSAN NIC. J. THEOCARAKIS S.A.

1916
There were 17 car representatives on record, whereas two years earlier there
were only 266 cars in circulation in Athens, showing an increasing tendency. In 1915 there were 1,000 cars in circulation. Five years later this number had risen to 1,622, as opposed to 1912 when there were only 65 cars in Athens.
Photo on the right. Nicholaos J. Theocarakis’ branch at 6 Veranzerou St. in Athens after the country’s liberation from the Germans (1945). Second from the right, Vasilios Theocarakis, Nicholaos J. Theocarakis’ youngest son, who along with his brother, Ioannis Theocarakis joined the family business at an early age, in the 1940s.
During the “Belle Epoque” era, when Nicholaos J. Theocarakis was born, the appearance of the car contributed to the emergence of various new professions - for example, car dealers first appeared during the decade 1900-1910. The Balkan Wars changed the automotive sector, since new transport needs were created as a result of the expansion of the national borders and the increasing population. The conscription of cars, together with their drivers and owners, and the needs of war, especially after the successful outcome of the Balkan wars, rendered the car as a sign of status and a symbol of modernism. As a result, entrepreneurs involved in the war effort, constituted the core of the first car representatives. The Asia Minor war - with the Greek Army having 2,500 trucks
at their disposal in June of 1921 - maintenance needs, the drivers who were trained and the auxiliary function of means of transport, highlighted the pivotal role of the automobile, whereas the railway proved to be inadequate for the final advance - and Nicholaos
J. Theocarakis was there. Afterwards, the inflows of refugees redefined the urban space, creating the need for a larger internal market and subsequently the need for the development of a transportations network; private cars, buses, taxis, trucks and their spare parts, repair shops and fuel pumps were needed to support transportations, and Nicholaos J. Theocarakis once again took part. The car spread rapidly in the mid-1920s
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