The GAZ-A is a passenger car that was mass-produced by

GAZ Gaz may refer to: Geography *Gaz, Kyrgyzstan Iran * Gaz, Darmian, village in South Khorasan province * Gaz, Golestan, a village in Bandar-e Gaz County * Gaz, Hormozgan, a village in Minab County * Gaz, Kerman, a village * Gaz, North Khorasan, a ...

from 1932 until 1936. It was the first passenger car to be produced in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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
(russian)

History

The cooperation between the

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 ...

and Russia dates back to the year 1909.Zur Geschichte der Zusammenarbeit zwischen Ford und Russland bzw. der Sowjetunion der Jahre 1909 bis 1935
(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 its vehicle industry was underdeveloped. The

first five-year plan First five-year plan may refer to: * First five-year plan (China) * First Five-Year Plans (Pakistan) * First five-year plan (Soviet Union) The first five-year plan (, ) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a list of economi ...

, in 1928, which generally contributed greatly to the development of Soviet industry, envisaged building-up a domestic automobile industry. In 1929, an official contract was signed with Ford, which provided that, every year, the USSR would buy large numbers of kits for Ford models, to be assembled in the newly built ''Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant'', shortened to NAZ (GAZ from 1933). 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 far too large. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

hit Ford, but not the Soviet Union, significantly fewer kits were needed. By the end of 1932, the factory in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod) had been brought up to a level where it was able to produce automobiles, and the first cars left the factory on 8 December.Historische Informationen zum Fahrzeug sowie Abbildungen
(russian) At about the same time, the production of the

GAZ-AA The GAZ-AA is a truck produced at the GAZ, Gorky Auto Plant in the Soviet Union from 1932 to 1938, and was the factory's first truck produced under the ''GAZ'' brand. Russian-speakers often refer to it as a ''polutorka'' () - meaning "one-and-a ha ...

began, which was a truck built on the same chassis as the car and included many other parts from it. The drawings for the GAZ-AA came from Ford.Webseite zum Lastwagen GAZ-AA und dessen Historie
(russian) By 1935, 100,000 vehicles, mostly trucks, had been built in the new plant. In the same year, the contract between Ford and the Soviet Union was dissolved by mutual agreement. In 1936, production ended after 41,917 cars had been produced, in favor of the successor, the

GAZ-M1 The GAZ M1 (“Эмка“/”Emka”) was a passenger car produced by the Automotive industry in the Soviet Union, Soviet automaker GAZ between 1936 and 1943, at their plant in Nizhny Novgorod, Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod, Russia). Systematic p ...

Variants

*GAZ-A: Main production version. Produced 1932-1936. *GAZ-A-Aremkuz: Third-party conversion of GAZ-A to a closed four-door by the Aremkuz plant in Moscow. *

: Pickup truck version. Produced 1932-1938. *GAZ-4: Pickup truck based on the GAZ-A. Produced 1933-1936. *GAZ-6 "Pioneer": Two-door sedan, based on the GAZ-A. Produced 1933-1936. *GAZ-AAAA: Prototype three-axle car based on the GAZ-A. The cab was from the GAZ-AA while the rear drive was from the GAZ-AAA. The two side-mounted spare tires could rotate to make it easier to overcome obstacles. *GAZ-TK: Three-axle car based on the GAZ-A. Produced 1936-1938

References

{{Reflist GAZ Group vehicles Trucks of the Soviet Union Cars introduced in 1932 1930s cars First car made by manufacturer