Ford-Vairogs ("Vairogs" meaning "Shield") (earlier called "Fenikss") was the name of a car factory in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, that produced license-built

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

cars between September 1937 and 1940 when it was expropriated as the property of the Soviet government. Not including the war department orders, Ford-Vairogs made 200 buses, 1000 trucks and 332 automobiles.

History

The history of the Vairogs factory began in the late 19th century. In 1895

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

citizen Oscar Freivirt got permission from the

Russian Emperor The emperor and autocrat of all Russia (, ), also translated as emperor and autocrat of all the Russias, was the official title of the Russian monarch from 1721 to 1917. The title originated in connection with Russia's victory in the Great Nor ...

to establish a

train carriage A passenger railroad car or passenger car (American English), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (British English and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (Indian English) is a railroad car that is designed to ca ...

factory in Riga (''

Rīgas Vagonbūves Rūpnīca Rīgas Vagonbūves Rūpnīca (RVR) was a Latvian rail and tram vehicle manufacturer, most notable for its multiple unit trains and tram vehicles used throughout the Soviet Union and its successor states. It has been insolvent and non-operat ...

''). It was known as

joint stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certifi ...

''Fēnikss'' ("Phoenix").Odin, L.C. ''World in Motion 1939 - The whole of the year's automobile production''. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG. In the 1930s the factory started to experience financial difficulties, and the Latvian government decided to intervene. In Autumn 1936, the Latvian government bought all 4000 shares of the near-bankrupt

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

. In December a new state owned company ''Vairogs'' was founded. it produced a wide variety of

passenger cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

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

, dumper trucks,

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

ambulances An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to ...

and

fire engines A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...

, a total of 300 passenger cars and 1'000 trucks.

Automobile production

In the second half of the 1930s, the Latvian economy experienced rapid development and there was constant demand for modern

. In 1937 ''Vairogs'' company saw their business opportunity and created an automobile department, appointing

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

Pauls Barons, grandson of the Latvian

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

Krišjānis Barons Krišjānis Barons (October 31, 1835 – March 8, 1923) was a Latvian writer who is known as the "father of the Daina (Latvia), dainas" (), largely thanks to his systematization of the Latvian folk song, folk songs, and his labour in preparing ...

, as director. Considering all costs and technologies, it was decided to buy a license from a known Western automobile company. In March 1937 ''Vairogs'' signed a contract with

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

division of

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

. According to contract, Ford Motor company granted car assembly concession to ''Vairogs'' factory in

. In September, the first Ford-Vairogs V8 3-ton trucks left the production line. In 1938, the factory also started to produce passenger cars and buses. Ford-Vairogs cars became very popular in Latvia because of their low prices and good quality. Ford-Vairogs was the biggest automobile company in the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

started in September 1939, Ford-Vairogs production numbers declined due to the wartime difficulties with engine and other part supplies. After the

Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 refers to the military occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union under the provisions of the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany and its Secret Additional Protocol signed i ...

the factory was nationalized and all Ford car production stopped. The Vairogs plant was handed over to the Rigas Vagonbüves Rupnica (Riga Railcar Factory). The cars made were: * Ford-Vairogs V8 Standard, a copy of 1939 American Ford-V8 92A * Ford-Vairogs V8 De Luxe, a copy of 1939 American Ford-V8 91A * Ford-Vairogs Taunus, a copy of 1939 German

Ford Taunus The Ford Taunus is a family car manufactured and marketed by Ford Germany throughout Europe. Models from 1970 on were manufactured using the same basic construction as the Ford Cortina MkIII in the United Kingdom, and later on, the two car mode ...

* Ford-Vairogs Junior, a copy of 1937 British Ford 10 Prefect. It was also made in a military version. File:Ford-Vairogs-V8-front.jpg, Ford-Vairogs V8 De Luxe. In the

Riga Motor Museum Riga Motor Museum () is the biggest antique vehicle museum in the Baltic countries, located in Riga, Latvia. The museum is a state agency operating under the Republic of Latvia Ministry of Transport. Since 1992, the museum is a member of Intern ...

. File:Ford-Vairogs-10.jpg, Ford-Vairogs Junior De Luxe. In the

Ammunition production

In 1937 Vairogs bought out Sellier & Bellot's satellite ammunition plant in Riga. It changed the headstamp from "SB" to a stylized "V". In addition to civilian cartridges, it made 7.92x57mm Mauser and .303 British ammunition for military clients in the region. After the Soviet occupation in 1940, it was nationalized as Factory 520 and began manufacturing 7.62×54mmR Russian ammunition - still using the "V" headstamp. It was closed in June 1941 due to the German invasion and its machinery was evacuated to Sverdlovsk. The machinery was later returned in 1944/1945 and production was resumed until 1946.

Train car production

After the war Vairogs was renamed ''

'' ("Riga Train-car Factory") and went back to manufacturing train cars.

References

External links

Images and technical specifications
of Ford-Vairogs automobiles at Oldtimer Gallery {{Ford of Europe Car manufacturers of Latvia Ford Motor Company Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Latvia Manufacturing companies based in Riga Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1936 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1940 1936 establishments in Latvia 1940 disestablishments in Latvia Companies nationalised by the Soviet Union