UAZ

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Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (UAZ)

Type	Subsidiary of SeverstalAvto
Founded	1941
Headquarters	Ulyanovsk
Industry	Automotive
Products	SUVs Off-roaders Buses Trucks
Website	Official UAZ website SeverstalAvto Site on UAZ

UAZ (УАЗ), Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod is an automobile manufacturer based in Ulyanovsk, Russia which makes SUVs, buses and trucks. Production started in 1941.

1 History
2 Gallery
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Creation

In 1941, after the start of Great Patriotic War, Stalin's government made every effort possible to try to save Soviet industry from being captured by the German army. So, in 1941, because of rapid advances by the Germans on Moscow, a decision was made to relocate ZIS - a Moscow car and freighter manufacturing plant - further away from the front line. Such a place was Ulyanovsk, a town in Volga region with existing infrastructure and skilled workers, but out of reach of German army. At that time, the plant was considered a subsidiary of ZIS. By 1942, the production of artillery shells and cars began.

In 1943, when the prospect of Germans winning the war was less likely, a decision was made to separate the relocated plant from ZIS. This was a part of general after-war policy conducted by Stalin's government in which relocated plants were separated into different units, since all the required buildings had already been erected. The existing plants before relocation were filled with (often - German) equipment, thus bursting the industry.

A logical choice for the newly created plant was to produce military and paramilitary cars, mostly due to its distance from the border. Therefore, in mid-1950es the production of the only Soviet offroad car, GAZ-69, was moved to Ulyanovsk. This car marked a beginning of a famous line of offroad vehicles manufactured by the plant.

[edit] Golden age

By mid-60es, the new management of the plant completed development of first original UAZ cars. The GAZ-69 offroad vehicle was replaced by UAZ-469. UAZ-469 was very similar in design to the original Jeep - a sturdy, but not-so-comfortable car that was able to drive in virtually any terrain and was easy to fix. The Uaz-469 reached legendary status for its reliability and off-road ability. The car didn't enter the personal use market until late 80s and was reserved for police forces and paramilitary (its commercially-available analog was produced by LuAZ, which was too close to border to be associated with the military).

In 1966, UAZ rolled out its pickup-truck/minibus UAZ-452, which received a warm welcome by the farmers due to its convenience and offroad capability. Although this automobile was mostly reserved for police and army use, it has seen much more civilian use than most other UAZ cars.

The Uaz-469 and its modifications has gained legendary status all over the world for its off-road ability, reliability and simplicity. Due to the vehicles reliability and capabilities it is to this day loved and used by off-road enthusiasts all over the world and is a welcome alternative to the US Jeep, British Land Rover and Japanese Land Cruisers due to its lower costs and similar characteristics.

[edit] Crisis

After the collapse of Soviet Union, UAZ has started feeling the heat. On one hand, people were willing to buy its cars due to its high reputation; on the other hand, most preferred used imported offroad cars due to the lack of reliability of UAZ cars. UAZ produced a slightly modified version of its original UAZ-469 car, UAZ Hunter, but the sales were still lacking.

NOTE: After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Uaz experienced many financial problems which resulted in poor quality control and cost cutting which resulted in the production of low quality Uaz automobiles compared to those made in soviet times

In 2004, the plant was bought out by the Severstal financial group, which made many investments in the firm and had also bought the ZMA car plant in Naberezhnye Chelny.

In 2005, a new SUV-like car, UAZ Patriot, was unveiled. Extensive use of third-party parts (which finally allowed UAZ to replace its notorious transmission with a better, Korean-manufactured one), large capacity, good offroad capabilities and affordable price (<15,000 USD) predict good sales in Russia.