UAZ or Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod () is an automobile manufacturer based in Ulyanovsk, Russia, which manufactures off-road vehicles, buses and trucks. It has been part of the Sollers automotive group since 2000.

UAZ is best known for the UAZ-469 utility vehicle, which has seen wide use as a military vehicle in the Eastern bloc and around the world. The UAZ factory started production in 1941 as part of the Soviet war effort. 51,706 UAZ vehicles were produced in 2016.

History

War and postwar

The Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant was founded in 1941 as a direct result of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In response to this threat, the government of Joseph Stalin ordered the evacuation of strategically crucial industrial centers to the East. By October 1941, the rapid German drive to Moscow, triggered the decision to relocate the Moscow automotive manufacturer ZIS to the Volga town of Ulyanovsk. The town, already a nascent industrial center with a sufficiently developed infrastructure and a good supply of skilled workers, would be an ideal location for the reconstituted factory. It was also safely out of reach of the German army. At that time of its founding, the plant was considered a subsidiary of ZIS. By 1942, the plant began production of artillery shells and automobiles. The first vehicle produced at the plant was the ZIS-5 three-ton truck.

In 1943, when the prospect of a German victory had become far less likely, it was decided the relocated plant would remain in Ulyanovsk and be separated administratively from ZIS, which would be rebuilt in Moscow from scratch. This was in line with the Soviet post-war policy regarding various relocated industrial operations. It was considered more efficient to leave the newly built plants as is, while the original plants, provided they survived the war were outfitted anew, frequently with captured German machinery. At the end of 1944, the production of the ZIS-5 was transferred to The Ural Automotive Plant in Miass, while the Ulyanovsk plant began producing the smaller GAZ-AA in 1947. UAZ developed a prototype 1.5-tonne truck in 1948, using the ubiquitous inline four of the Pobeda; this, the UAZ-300, was never built, due to a lack of production capacity. Two years later, the factory was not just assembling GAZ-69s from parts delivered elsewhere, but manufacturing them in their entirety.

The connection with GAZ led UAZ to be the top Soviet manufacturer of four-wheel drive vehicles. It was this office, responding to a request from the Red Army, that in 1955 created a forward control van project, codenamed "Forty", on the GAZ-69 chassis. The ambulance spawned a prototype UAZ-452GP with hydropneumatic suspension, to enable it to cross rough ground at high speed, following on the work done by Citroën on the DS19.

In 1966, the UAZ-451s were updated with a inline-four (still based on the Pobedas), four-speed gearbox, and minor detail changes, plus a stronger chassis (and so higher payload). The UAZ-452 was able to cross of snow and carry an load. The UAZ-452s would go on to become a workhorse of Soviet agriculture and police, with the pickup proving a popular commercial vehicle. Export versions of the UAZ-452D were called Trekmaster when sold in Britain, but never in large numbers; there was also a version with a British-built dump body, the Tipmaster.

The UAZ-451S was a snow-crossing variant with front skis and rear tracks; it was never produced in quantity, nor was the UAZ-451S2, which had tracks at front and rear. and the UAZ-460. The UAZ-469 was a sturdy, but not-so-comfortable vehicle with the ability to overcome virtually any terrain, while also providing ease of maintenance. The UAZ-469 was not made available to the civilian market until the late 1980s, before which time it was built exclusively for police and military use, as well as heads of agricultural enterprises (kolhozes and sovkhozes). A commercially available variant was produced by the Lutzk Automotive Works.

Later years

thumb|UAZ headquarters building

thumb|right|UAZ-469 stella at UAZ plant in Ulyanovsk

In the 1990s, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, UAZ became a joint-stock company and soon received the Golden Globe and Golden Mercury Awards for a significant volume of sales and its contribution to the Russian economy.

On 5 August 1997, the new UAZ-3160 went into production and received a gold medal at an international fair in Yekaterinburg. The car was used as the basis for the later Simbir and UAZ-3163.

In May 2023, Izvestia reported that UAZ would shortly launch knock down production of vehicles in Cuba, as a result of negotiations between Russian and Cuban enterprises. Service centers for the repair and maintenance of these vehicles would also be set up in the country. The Cuban side of the delegation was reportedly the most interested in UAZ Profi delivery vehicles, as well as ambulances based on the UAZ Classic. The first batch of machine kits will go to Cuba in July–August 2023. UAZ further stated that vehicle production would increase by 2,000 units, as well as increase employee wages by 12%.

In June 2023, UAZ announced plans to launch a limited anniversary edition of the UAZ Classic.

Models

Current

Current lineup of UAZ vehicles:

SUVs

  • UAZ Hunter (UAZ-315195, 2003–present)
  • UAZ Patriot (UAZ-3163, 2005–present)
  • UAZ Pickup – pickup version
  • UAZ Cargo – truck version
  • UAZ Profi – truck version

<gallery>

Interpolitex 2011 (403-53).jpg|UAZ Hunter (2003–present)

File:UAZ Patriot - przód(MSP16).jpg|UAZ Patriot (2005–present)

</gallery>

Minibuses

  • UAZ-452/UAZ-3741 (1965–present)
  • UAZ-451 – truck version
  • UAZ 452D/UAZ-3303 – truck version

<gallery>

File:UAZ-Bus.jpg|UAZ-452/UAZ-3742 (1965–present)

</gallery>

Past models

SUVs

  • UAZ-469/UAZ-3151 (1971–2005)
  • UAZ-469B/UAZ-31512 – civilian version
  • UAZ-31514 – metal roofed version
  • UAZ-3153 – long wheelbase version
  • UAZ-3160 (1997–1999)
  • UAZ Simbir (UAZ-3162, 2000–2004)
  • UAZ-2360 – truck version

<gallery>

File:ParkPatriot2015part4-12.jpg|UAZ-469/UAZ-3151 (1971–2005)

File:UAZ-3160 01.jpg|UAZ-3160 (1997–1999)

File:Jílové u Prahy, vůz městské policie.jpg|UAZ Simbir (2000–2004)

</gallery>

Minibuses

  • UAZ-450 (1958–1965)
  • UAZ-450D – truck version

<gallery>

File:UAZ-450A.jpg|UAZ-450 (1958–1965)

</gallery>

Prototypes

  • UAZ-3907 Jaguar – amphibious car (1976)
  • UAZ-3171 – SUV (1989)
  • UAZ Simba (UAZ-3165) – minivan (1999)

<gallery>

File:UAZ-3907.jpg|UAZ-3907 Jaguar (1976)

File:UAZ-3172-01.jpg|UAZ-3171 (1989)

File:UAZ-3165m.JPG|UAZ Simba (1999)

</gallery>

See also

  • TREKOL-39294 – A Russian six-wheeled amphibious all-terrain vehicle manufactured using UAZ and GAZ products
  • Automobile model numbering system in the Soviet Union and Russia

References