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Automobile industry of the Soviet Union

 

 
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Automobile industry of the Soviet Union
 
 
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The automobile industry in the Soviet Union is unique amongst automobile industries in the world. Until the October Revolution, very few Russians could afford cars - the few cars that were around were imported into Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
 from other countries, and even then the Czar and his family owned most of them. After the October Revolution, as part of the five year plan
First Five-Year Plan

The First Five-Year Plan of the USSR was a list of economic goals that was designed to strengthen the country's economy between 1928 and 1932, making the nation both militarily and industrially self-sufficient....
s, the Kremlin
Government of Russia

The Government of the Russian Federation is an executive governmental body that brings together the principal officers of the Executive Branch of the Russian Federation government....
 felt a need for creating an indigenous automobile industry in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
.






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The automobile industry in the Soviet Union is unique amongst automobile industries in the world. Until the October Revolution, very few Russians could afford cars - the few cars that were around were imported into Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
 from other countries, and even then the Czar and his family owned most of them. After the October Revolution, as part of the five year plan
First Five-Year Plan

The First Five-Year Plan of the USSR was a list of economic goals that was designed to strengthen the country's economy between 1928 and 1932, making the nation both militarily and industrially self-sufficient....
s, the Kremlin
Government of Russia

The Government of the Russian Federation is an executive governmental body that brings together the principal officers of the Executive Branch of the Russian Federation government....
 felt a need for creating an indigenous automobile industry in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
. The oldest Soviet automaker, however, was created in an unconventional way - GAZ
GAZ

GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod , translated as Gorky Automobile Plant , started in 1929 as NNAZ, a cooperation between Ford Motor Company and the Soviet Union....
 (Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, "Gorky Automobile Factory") was originally developed with the assistance of Ford
Ford Motor Company

The Ford Motor Company is an United States multinational corporation and the world's List of automobile manufacturers#World Motor Vehicle Production by Manufacturer based on worldwide vehicle sales, following Toyota, General Motors, and Volkswagen Group....
  because the Soviet Union lacked experience in creating a national automobile industry. Slowly, but surely, other automobile companies were created by the Kremlin, mostly to cater to certain aspects of the industry. Since the economy was centrally planned, there was virtually no competition, except by cars from other countries in the COMECON
Comecon

The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance , 1949?1991, was an economic organization of communist states and a kind of Eastern Bloc equivalent to?but more geographically inclusive than—the European Economic Community....
. The following list states how, by the early 1980s, the Soviet automobile companies were positioned:

  • AvtoZAZ
    AvtoZAZ

    AvtoZAZ started in 1975 as Industrial Association , ? holding that incorporated ZAZ, MeMZ, Ilyichyevsk Automobile Parts Plant and a number of other automobile-production facilities in Lutzk and Kherson....
     (aka ZAZ
    ZAZ

    ZAZ or Zaporizhia Automobile Building Plant is the main automobile-manufacturer of Ukraine, based in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhya....
    ): Originally designed to be a Soviet Volkswagen
    Volkswagen

    Volkswagen Passenger Cars, also known as VW, is an automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Germany and is the original as well as the largest brand by sales volume within the Volkswagen Group....
    , thus their cars were very basic
  • AvtoVAZ
    AvtoVAZ

    AvtoVAZ is a Russian automobile manufacturer, also known as VAZ, Volzhsky Automobilny Zavod , and better known to the world as Lada, was set up in the late 1960s in collaboration with Fiat....
     (aka VAZ
    Vaz

    VAZ is a Russia automobile manufacturer, Volzhsky Automobilny Zavod - AutoVAZ.Vaz also may refer to:...
    , Lada
    Lada

    Lada is the trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Togliatti, Russia, Samara Oblast. All the manufacturer's vehicles sold nowadays are of the Lada brand but this has not always been so....
    ): The most popular car (known in Russia as the Zhiguli), it was originally a licence-built copy of the Fiat 124
    Fiat 124

    The Fiat 124 is a Mid-size car family car produced by the Italy manufacturer Fiat between 1966 and 1974. It was the replacement of the Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1300/1500....
    , a mainstream brand; also manufacturing (pre-1991) the Lada Samara
    Lada Samara

    The Lada Samara is an economy car produced by Soviet Union/Russian automaker AvtoVAZ from 1984 until 2004. The brand name Samara originally was used only for exported models, in Russia the same model was called "Sputnik"....
     compact car
    Compact car

    A compact , small family or c-segment car is a car classification of automobile which are larger than a supermini car and smaller than a large family car....
    , the Lada Niva
    Lada Niva

    The Lada Niva is an off-road vehicle built by Russian automaker AutoVAZ. The car is very popular in its home country. It is also popular in Canada , South America, Europe, and other regions where the terrain requires a robust and tough car for a reasonable price....
     SUV, the Lada Oka
    Lada Oka

    VAZ-1111 Oka is a city car designed in Russia in 1988 by AvtoVAZ featuring a 750 cc SOHC 2-cylinder engine. The car was developed by AutoVAZ, but it has never entered volume production there....
     city car
    City car

    A city car is a small, moderately powered automobile intended for use in urban areas.It is comparable in size and features to a neighborhood electric vehicle , has four seats, and is typically long....
    , as well as export modifications (Lada Riva
    Lada Riva

    The Lada Riva is a medium-sized family car from Russian manufacturer AvtoVAZ, introduced in 1980 and sold under the Lada brand in sedan and estate car forms....
    ).
  • AZLK
    AZLK

    AZLK is a Russian automobile factory , the maker of the Moskvitch brand.Founded in 1930 as KIM, or Communist Youth International, the plant became MZMA in 1939, before finally changing its name to the more familiar Avtomobilny Zavod imeni Leninskogo Komsomola - literally "Lenin Communist Youth League Automobile Factory" in 1956....
     (aka Moskvitch
    Moskvitch

    Moskvitch was an automobile brand from Russia....
    ): originally part of GAZ
    GAZ

    GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod , translated as Gorky Automobile Plant , started in 1929 as NNAZ, a cooperation between Ford Motor Company and the Soviet Union....
    , a mainstream brand
  • GAZ
    GAZ

    GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod , translated as Gorky Automobile Plant , started in 1929 as NNAZ, a cooperation between Ford Motor Company and the Soviet Union....
     (aka Volga): the Russian "Mercedes-Benz
    Mercedes-Benz

    Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coach es, and trucks. It is currently a division of the parent company, Daimler AG , after previously being owned by Daimler-Benz....
    "
  • ZIL
    Zavod Imeni Likhacheva

    Zavod imeni Likhacheva More commonly called ZIL is a major Russian truck and heavy equipment manufacturer, which also produced armored cars for most Soviet Union leaders, as well as buses, armored fighting vehicles, and aerosans....
    : the official limousine
    Limousine

    A limousine is a luxury car sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coach builder....
     of the Soviet Union
  • UAZ
    UAZ

    UAZ , Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod is an automobile manufacturer based in Ulyanovsk, Russia which makes Sport utility vehicles, buses and trucks....
    : maker of the Red Army
    Red Army

    The Red Army was the armed force first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and, in 1922, became the army of the Soviet Union....
    's jeeps
  • LuAZ
    LuAZ

    LuAZ is a Ukraine automobile manufacturer located in the city of Lutsk....
    : maker of small-displacement jeeps


With the exception of ZAZ and LuAZ, which were located in the Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR

The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or the Ukrainian SSR was one of the founders of the USSR and a republic that made up the former Soviet Union from its formation in 1922 to its abolishment in 1991....
, all the abovementioned companies were located in the Russian SFSR.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it became hard for Russian/Ukrainian automakers to thrive. Some automakers, like AvtoVAZ
AvtoVAZ

AvtoVAZ is a Russian automobile manufacturer, also known as VAZ, Volzhsky Automobilny Zavod , and better known to the world as Lada, was set up in the late 1960s in collaboration with Fiat....
, have turned to collaborations with other companies (such as GM-AvtoVAZ
GM-AvtoVAZ

GM-AvtoVAZ is a joint venture between General Motors Corporation and AvtoVAZ set up in 1999. It produces the Chevrolet Niva, based on the Lada Niva, and the Chevrolet Viva, based on the 1998 Opel Astra notchback....
) in order to keep the factories running. Others, like AZLK, have become dormant, while still others still build the old Soviet-era models. Then there are special cases, like ZAZ
ZAZ

ZAZ or Zaporizhia Automobile Building Plant is the main automobile-manufacturer of Ukraine, based in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhya....
, which have transformed themselves into new companies - in ZAZ's case they are now known as UkrAVTO.

See also


  • Economy of the Soviet Union
    Economy of the Soviet Union

    The economy of the Soviet Union was based on a system of state ownership, administrative planning, socialist competition and free labour. The Soviet Union created the modern world's first centrally planned economy....


External links