SeAZ (russian: Серпуховский автомобильный завод, Serpukhovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, Serpukhov Automobile Plant) was a large engineering plant in

Serpukhov Serpukhov ( rus, Серпухов, p=ˈsʲɛrpʊxəf) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Oka and the Nara Rivers, south from Moscow ( from Moscow Ring Road) on the Moscow—Simferopol highway. The Moscow— T ...

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. From 1939 to 1995, the company was called SMZ (Serpukhov Motorcycle Plant) and produced various cyclecars for use by disabled drivers, usually powered by

IZh Izh may refer to; * IZh (Russian: ), a Russian automobile marque of the Izhevsk Machinebuilding Plant * Izh (river) (Russian: ), Udmurt Republic, Russia * Ingrian language Ingrian can refer to: *Of or pertaining to the region of Ingria *The Ingr ...

motorcycle engines. Between 1991 and 2008 it also produced

Lada Oka Oka or OKA may refer to: Cars * Oka (automobile), a small car designed by AvtoVAZ and produced by ZMA and SeAZ * OKA 4wd, a large 4-wheel-drive vehicle made in Western Australia by OKA Military * 2B1 Oka, Soviet 420 mm self-propelled mort ...

microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are often ...

s developed by

AvtoVAZ AvtoVAZ ( rus, АвтоВАЗ, p=ɐftoˈvas) is a Russian automobile manufacturing company owned by the state. It was formerly named as VAZ ( rus, ВАЗ), an acronym for Volga Automotive Plant in Russian (russian: Во́лжский автомо� ...

. The company was declared bankrupt in 2013.

History

The company was founded on July 7, 1939, by an order of the People's Commissariat for General Automotive Industry and by the head of '' Glavmotoveloprom'', concerning production of small-capacity

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

s. Since the beginning of the 1980s, the factory entered a period of development: the prototype of a new car was designed and produced, and was named "Oka". It anticipated the car produced nowadays. In 1985, the

Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ɛsɛsɛˈsɛr; sometimes abbreviated to ''Sovmin'' or referred to as the '' ...

issued a decree "On the creation of new capacities for the production of the new model of a microcar at the AvtoVAZ and KamAZ plants and at the Serpukhov Motorcycle Plant of the Soviet Ministry of the Automotive Industry". The Serpukhov plant was significantly rebuilt for the new tasks. The leading Soviet enterprises, as well as some foreign companies such as

Dürr AG Dürr AG is a global mechanical and plant engineering firm. The company, founded by Paul Dürr (1871–1936) as a metal shop for roof flashing in Bad Cannstatt in 1895, has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 4 January 1990. Meanwhil ...

, Bollhoff and PPG, were entrusted with the equipment for production and assembly. In 1989, the plant started assembling cars of the extra-small class. At the same time, it was integrated into the

corporation. In 1995, AvtoVAZ fully transferred the assembly of the Oka microcar to SMZ. In 2005, the SeAZ stock company became a member of the Avtokom industrial group. Production of the Oka ended in 2007. The company has subsequently stated that it has no plans to resume car production. After the company's bankruptcy, the factory site was turned into the Serpukhov Industrial Park.

Welfare cars

Image:С-1А.jpg, SMZ S-1L Image:SMZ S3A-M (1969) 1X7A8078.jpg, SMZ S-3A (1958-1970) Image:Flickr_-_plushev_-_IMGP2462.jpg, SMZ S3D (1970-1997) Image:Automobil_Oka_(2004).jpg, SeAZ Oka (1988-2008)

References

External links

Serpukhov Automobile Plant
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Russia Motor vehicle manufacturers of the Soviet Union Companies based in Moscow Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1939 Russian brands Soviet brands 1939 establishments in the Soviet Union {{Motorvehicle-company-stub