ZAZ
ZAZ or Zaporizhzhia Automobile Building Plant is Ukraine's main automobile manufacturer based in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia. ZAZ manufactures cars, buses and trucks. ZAZ is also often known by the public as its former parent company, AvtoZAZ.
History
The date of the plant's foundation is considered to be 1863. In 1908, the company was founded, which later became the Melitopol Motor Plant. In 1923, the former Abram Koop plant was renamed "Communar". In 1960, the Melitopol Motor Plant began supplying its engines to the Zaporizhzhia Automobile Plant. Since 1975, MeMZ has been a part of the production association "AvtoZAZ". Today, it is one of the structural elements of PJSC "ZAZ". In 1961, the plant was renamed to "Zaporizhzhia Automobile Plant". The plant was engaged in the production of a single car, ZAZ-965, which went down in history as a "humpbacked Zaporozhets".On April 15, 1998, JV "AvtoZAZ-DEU" was established, as a closed joint-stock company on the production base of JSC "Avtozaz". The authorized capital was formed at the expense of the founders' contributions: from OJSC Avtozaz - property in the amount equivalent to $150; from Daewoo Motors - $150 million. In addition to the main enterprise in Zaporizhzhia, the joint venture included the Melitopol Motor Plant, the Black Sea Plant of Automobile Units, and the Pologi Plant Iskra as self-supporting enterprises.
Following the bankruptcy of Daewoo Motors in 2001, UKRAVTO Group bought AvtoZAZ in 2002. All production facilities of AvtoZAZ were transformed into ZAZ. Furthermore, the company adopted a new logo. In 2003, the Swiss company Hirsch & CIE bought Daewoo's stake in the joint venture.
PJSC "ZAZ" is currently Ukraine's only company with a full passenger car production cycle, including stamping, welding, painting, body equipment, and car assembly. The plant has created and continually improves a qualitatively new, modern, high-tech production, meeting the requirements of the international standard ISO 9001, version 2000.
The first three symbols of the VIN code of Zaporizhzhia-made cars are Y6D.
From A. J. Koop to Kommunar
The company that became ZAZ developed out of four businesses founded by German entrepreneur Abram J. Koop to manufacture agricultural machinery. In 1863, local Mennonite industrialist Abram J. Koop built a factory for the production of iron parts for windmills, reapers, threshers, and plows. Later, it was nationalized and restarted as the state-operated Kommunar factory, which continued to produce twenty-four types of machines.. Its first combine harvesters appeared in 1929, with 129,724 being built by 1952. In 1930, Kommunar began producing the first Soviet harvester, Kommunar, based on the American Holt Caterpillar horse-drawn harvester. The production of the harvester allowed the Soviet Union to cease importing harvesters from abroad.From harvesters to cars
In 1956, the company, then known as MZMA, launched mass production of the Moskvitch 402, one of the Soviet Union's most publicly accessible cars. Following the growing trend of small cars, the minister in charge of Minavtroprom selected the new Fiat 600 as the model to follow. The first prototype, the MZMA 444, appeared in October 1957. It was powered by a flat twin-cylinder MD-65 engine, provided by the Irbit Motorcycle Plant, which was "totally unsuited", as it produced only and lasted only between major overhauls. As a result, a search for another engine began, and the success of the VW Type 1's boxer led to a preference for an air-cooled engine, which NAMI had on the drawing board. Minavtroprom, however, preferred a V4 engine, the NAMI-G, which had the additional advantage of being developed for the LuAZ-967.On 28 November 1958, the new car was approved for production, with the company's name changed to ZAZ reflecting its new profile. The Zaporizhzhia factory was supplemented with the Mikoyan Diesel-Building Factory in Melitopol, which was part of the Soyuzdiesel combinat.
On 12 June 1959, the prototype of the first car, dubbed the ZAZ-965 Zaporozhets, was delivered. It was approved on 25 July 1960 and entered production on 25 October 1960.
Following the success of the ZAZ-965, plant manager Yuri Sorochkin planned a forward control microbus on the ZAZ-965's platform, with a payload, as the ZAZ 970. Sorochkin hoped to capture the market for compact utility vehicles, which were in perennially short supply in the Soviet Union. The project was prototyped by a team under an individual by the name of Yuri Danilov, which pioneered use of -thick steel in the Soviet Union. The steel was provided by Zaporizkyi Metallurgical Plant. The engine and transmission were straight out of a ZAZ-965, which caused liftover problems, because the V4 was mounted under the rear floor. Three prototypes were built in 1962: a van with payload and volume, a pickup with a payload, and a microbus able to seat six or seven plus a ; even four-wheel drive models were planned. None was built.
In 1975, the factory was consolidated in the AvtoZAZ holding, which was transformed into joint-stock company in 1990s. In 1986, ZAZ, together with Comau, installed a new production complex. The Illichivsk factory of automobile parts in one of the biggest freight sea ports on Black Sea in Illichivsk became part of the AutoZAZ holding.
In November 1987, the plant began producing a new front wheel drive car ZAZ-1102 Tavria. In 1989, it became known that new models were being developed based on the "Tavria" - a five-door ZAZ-1105 and a "Kombi" model with "station wagon" body. In October 1989, the plant produced its three millionth car. All these cars were powered by a water cooled, front mounted MeMZ engine and fall into micro-class.
In Ukraine
On 1 June 1994, the factory ceased production of its ZAZ-968M model.When AvtoZAZ-Daewoo joint venture with Daewoo Motors was formed in 1998, ZAZ was assigned to the new company as a 50% share on behalf of AvtoZAZ. Daewoo Motors made large investments and established the production of its own models, while keeping and modernizing the native ZAZ brand. CKD kits of Daewoo Lanos, Daewoo Nubira and Daewoo Leganza started assembling the same year in Chornomorsk; at the same time, CKD assembly of a number of older VAZ models started.
Following the bankruptcy of Daewoo Motors in 2001, UkrAVTO corporation bought out AvtoZAZ holding in 2002. All of the AvtoZAZ manufacturing facilities were reincorporated into ZAZ. The company even adopted a new logo. The Daewoo part in the joint venture was bought out by Swiss venture Hirsch & CIE in 2003.
End of 2004 saw the beginning of full-scale production of completely domestic ZAZ Lanos, now that CKD kits of Lanos were no longer supplied. In 2006, ZAZ reached an agreement with the Chinese manufacturer Chery Automobile to assemble passenger cars from kits and from 2011 started full-scale production of the Chery A13 under its own badge as ZAZ Forza. The same year production of the Chevrolet Aveo was moved from the FSO car factory to ZAZ.
By Decree of the President of Ukraine, CJSC "ZAZ" employees were rewarded with State awards of Ukraine in 2009.
In the first half of 2012, ZAZ manufactured 20,060 vehicles, a 30% decline from the same period in 2011. In 2012, Zaporizhzhia Automobile Building Plant started serial full-scale production of new car model, the ZAZ Vida.
The era of "Zaporozhets"
The history of passenger car production in Zaporizhzhia, which is identified with the history of the Ukrainian automobile industry in general, dates back to 1960, when the first Ukrainian microcar - ZAZ-965 "Zaporozhets" came off the assembly line of the Kommunar plant.Production of serial machines began on 1 October 1960, and by the end of the year was released about one and a half thousand "Zaporozhtsiv". ZAZ-965 "Zaporozhets" quickly became popular. It cost relatively little and was economical. Operating fuel consumption was 7.3 liters per 100 km against 10 liters in "Moskvich-402" or "Moskvich-407". The full-fledged 4-seater was compact and maneuverable: its length was 3.33 m, and the radius of rotation behind the track of the outer wheel - 5 m. Independent suspension of all wheels, smooth, without a tunnel for the "cardan", bottom, 20-centimeter ground clearance the rear axle provided good passability. There were, of course, shortcomings. For example, the noise, which often annoyed the rear passengers. The doors opened in the old-fashioned way, against the move, and could, if accidentally opened on the move, become a sail that could easily take the car off the road. Unsuccessful, from the point of view of fire safety, was the location of the gas tank in front of the body.
Many motorists were not satisfied with the insufficient engine power, and therefore - the weak dynamics of the "Zaporozhets". Therefore, in October 1962 the production of the modernized ZAZ-965A began. Engine displacement increased from 746 to 887 cm3, respectively, power increased from 22 to 27 hp. The maximum speed has also increased - from 80 to 90 km / h. This machine was produced until 1969. When the 130th anniversary of the plant was celebrated in September 1993, the festive motorcade was opened by one of the first "Zaporozhians", decorated with a banner with the number 332 106. This is the number of cars produced during the years of production - from 1960 to 1969. In 1961, ZAZ designers began to develop the ZAZ-966 car with a new body. However, its production was delayed due to the allied leadership, perhaps for economic reasons - to put on the assembly line a new model just a year after the release of the previous one was considered inappropriate. Therefore, ZAZ-966 was released only six years later. Its engine was also located at the rear. Initially, it was a 30-horsepower MeMZ-966A, which was installed on the latest modifications of the "humpback" predecessor. Then came the 40-horsepower MeMZ-966V, which allowed the car to accelerate to 120 km / h on a straight road. However, in practice, not everyone could develop such a speed, and fines for speeding "Zaporozhets" were so rare that in itself such an event was regarded as a topic worthy of a joke.
Since 1969, on the basis of the model ZAZ-966 began to produce ZAZ-968 with a new engine and some minor changes. Since 1975 in the same body - ZAZ-968A. It featured a new brake system, improved front seats and an ignition lock with anti-theft device. Before the ZAZ-968A in 1972 there was a slightly modernized model ZAZ-968 - it did not have a decorative panel on the front of the body, there was a new unit. A more serious reworking awaited the model in 1979–1980.
ZAZ-968M became not only the last domestic car with a rear engine, but also the most durable, because it was produced until 1994. But he received a new line of engines: more powerful MeMZ-968 GE and MeMZ-968 BE.
In total 3,422,444 Zaporozhets cars in Zaporizhzhia and air-cooled engines in Melitopol were manufactured.