The Krasnodar mechanical plant of non-standard equipment ( rus, Краснодарский механический завод нестандартного оборудования), commonly known as AvtoKuban ( rus, АвтоКубань), was a

Soviet 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 nation ...

/Russian company that manufactured

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es based on

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

chassis.

History

The Krasnodar mechanical plant was the first Soviet company that specialised in the production of special vehicles for cultural institutions. For almost thirty years it remained the main manufacturer of theatre buses, mobile clubhouses and libraries in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. In addition to the buses, the plant also built various Kubanets vehicles based on the UAZ-452D between 1966 and 1998. In 1962, the Soviet government reorganised one of the departments of the

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...

industrial enterprise "Rempromkombinat" into the "Krasnodar mechanical plant of non-standard equipment" that would produce medium-sized buses for cultural institutions and citywide agitation. All of its buses were to be built on truck chassis provided by large automobile manufacturers such as GAZ. As the first model had been expected to be built by the end of summer, engineers of the newly created factory built a bus named Kuban-62, which had a wooden frame instead of a metal one and was based on the chassis of the

GAZ-51 The GAZ-51 (nickname ''Gazon'') was a Soviet truck manufactured by GAZ. Its first prototypes were produced before the end of World War II and has been influenced by Studebaker US6. The mass production started in 1946. A 2.5 ton 4×2 standard var ...

A. This model was used in the city of Krasnodar as mobile clubhouses and bookstores. A year later, it was modernised, demonstrated at an exhibition under the name Kuban-63 and went into mass production. Since there was a need for various special vehicles for the Ministry of Culture, the Krasnodar plant increased the number and variety of automobiles it produced. The overall number of its buses rose from 293 in 1963 to 955 in 1966. New models came off the assembly line, including the mobile clubhouse Kuban-64, the mobile library Kuban-65A, and a four-wheel-drive bus built on the chassis of the GAZ-63. In March 1967, the plant produced the Kuban-G1A, a newer bus with an all-metal frame, that was used as mobile libraries, bookstores, museums, and clubhouses. In the late 1960s, these automobiles were replaced by the newer G2, G3, and G4 models. After having been restyled and built on the chassis of the GAZ-52-04, they were renamed to GA1A. Seven years later, a newer bus was created on the basis of the

GAZ-53 The GAZ-53 is a 3.5 tonne 4x2 truck produced by GAZ between 1961 and 1993. Introduced first as GAZ-53F, it was joined by the virtually identical 2.5-ton GAZ-52 in 1962, which was produced until 1989. The GAZ-52 and GAZ-53 trucks are distingui ...

; having a longer chassis and a larger carrying capacity than its predecessor, it eventually replaced the older model. By the late 1980s, Kuban buses had become obsolete. After being restyled for the last time in 1989, they were discontinued four years later. 112,500 buses were built in total. After the collapse of the USSR, the factory was privatised and renamed to the corporation AvtoKuban. It produced

GAZelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...

-based minibuses but could not compete with larger companies and went bankrupt in 2001.

Models

*Based on

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� ...

trucks: **Kuban-62, Kuban-62A (1962–1963) - buses and mobile clubhouses with wooden framework, built on the basis of the

A **Kuban-63 (1963–1967) - an upgraded version of the previous model **Kuban-64 - a mobile clubhouse **Kuban-65A - a mobile library **Kuban-G1A (1967–1975) - a new bus with a metal body **Kuban-G1A1 (1975–1982) **Kuban-G1A1-01 (1982–1989) - a modernised bus based on the

A **Kuban-G1A1-02 (1989–1993) *Based on

minibuses: **Kuban- GAZ-3302 - a flatbed truck **Kuban- GAZ-33022 - a van **Kuban-GAZ-3232 (1995–2000) - a 14-seater bus *Based on the UAZ-452D / UAZ-3303: **Kubanets-U1, Kubanets-U1A (1966–1985) - a minibus **Kubanets-U1A1 (1985–1992) **CMH-T12.02 (1986–1995) - a minibus **CMH-TSK2, CMH-TSK2-01 (1992–1998) - an upgraded version of the previous model **TSK2-CMH-08 (1992–1998) - a double cab pickup truck **TSK2-CMH-09 (1992–1998) *On the basis of Tata: **Kuban-TATA-3225 - a van (1996–2001) **Kuban-TATA-2306 - a double cab truck (1996–2001) **Kuban-TATA-3787 - a bread van

External links

Kuban G1A1-02 on YouTube

History

Models

External links

See also