The GAZ-A is a passenger car that was mass-produced by
GAZ
GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (russian: ГАЗ or Го́рьковский автомоби́льный заво́д, , Gorky Automobile Plant) is a Russian automotive manufacturer located in Nizhny Novgorod, formerly known as Gorky (Го ...
from 1932 until 1936. It was the first passenger car to be produced in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and is a near-exact copy of the
Ford Model A from 1930. To the local population, the car was nicknamed "Gazik".
[Technische Daten und weitere Fakten zum Fahrzeug](_blank)
(russian)
History
The cooperation between the
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
and Russia dates back to the year 1909.
[Zur Geschichte der Zusammenarbeit zwischen Ford und Russland bzw. der Sowjetunion der Jahre 1909 bis 1935](_blank)
(russian) Ford was an important supplier of passenger cars and commercial vehicles such as tractors and trucks, especially in the 1910s and 1920s. Tens of thousands were imported into the Soviet Union because their own vehicle industry was underdeveloped. The first five-year plan of 1928, which generally contributed greatly to the development of the Soviet industry, also envisaged building a domestic automobile production. In 1929, an official contract was signed with Ford, which provided that the USSR every year should buy large quantities kits for Ford models to them in the newly built ''Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant'', short NAZ (from 1933 GAZ) assembly.
Vehicles were also assembled at the
KIM plant in Moscow.
As early as the beginning of 1931, the Soviet government stated that the projected quantities were significantly too large. The
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
hit both Ford and the Soviet Union, significantly fewer kits were needed.
By the end of 1932, the factory in
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
had been brought up to a level where it was able to produce automobiles. The first cars left the halls on the 8 December 1932.
[Historische Informationen zum Fahrzeug sowie Abbildungen](_blank)
(russian) At about the same time, the production of the
GAZ-AA
The GAZ-AA was a truck produced at the Gorki Auto Plant from 1932 to 1938, as the company's first truck produced under the ''GAZ'' brand name.
History
In 1929 the Soviet Union made an agreement with the Ford Motor Company to produce the Ford ...
began. This was a truck that was built on the same chassis and took over many other vehicle parts from the car. The drawings for the vehicle were still from Ford.
Webseite zum Lastwagen GAZ-AA und dessen Historie
(russian)
By 1935, 100,000 vehicles had been built in the new plant, mostly trucks. In the same year, the contract between Ford and the Soviet Union was dissolved by mutual agreement. In 1936, production ended after 41,917 copies in favor of the successor GAZ-M1
The GAZ M1 (“Эмка“/”Emka”) was a passenger car produced by the Soviet automaker GAZ between 1936 and 1943, at their plant in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod, Russia).
Systematic production ended in 1941, but the factory was able to con ...
.
References
{{Reflist
GAZ Group vehicles
Trucks of the Soviet Union
Cars introduced in 1932
1930s cars
First car made by manufacturer