- Automobile industry in the Soviet Union
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 intoRussia from other countries, and even then theCzar and his family owned most of them. After the October Revolution, as part of the five year plans, the Kremlin felt a need for creating an indigenous automobile industry in theSoviet Union . The oldest Soviet automaker, however, was created in an unconventional way -GAZ ("Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod", "Gorky Automobile Factory") was originally developed with the assistance of Ford [http://www.users.bigpond.com/cpitman/contract.htm] 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 theCOMECON . The following list states how, by the early 1980s, the Soviet automobile companies were positioned:*
AvtoZAZ (akaZAZ ): Originally designed to be a SovietVolkswagen , thus their cars were very basic
*AvtoVAZ (akaVAZ ,Lada ): The most popular car (known in Russia as the Zhiguli), it was originally a licence-built copy of theFiat 124 , a mainstream brand; also manufacturing (pre-1991) theLada Samara compact car , theLada Niva SUV , theLada Oka city car , as well as export modifications (Lada Riva ).
*AZLK (akaMoskvitch ): originally part ofGAZ , a mainstream brand
*GAZ (akaVolga ): the Russian "Mercedes-Benz "
*ZIL: the officiallimousine of the Soviet Union
*UAZ : maker of theRed Army 's jeeps
*LuAZ : maker of small-displacement jeepsWith the exception of ZAZ and LuAZ, which were located in the
Ukrainian SSR , all the abovementioned companies were located in the Russian SFSR.After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union in1991 , it became hard for Russian/Ukrainian automakers to thrive. Some automakers, likeAvtoVAZ , have turned to collaborations with other companies (such asGM-AvtoVAZ ) 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, likeZAZ , which have transformed themselves into new companies - in ZAZ's case they are now known asUkrAVTO .See also
*
Economy of the Soviet Union External links
* [http://www.gm-avtovaz.ru/new_en/index.php?gm_user=Yes GM-AvtoVAZ]
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