TagAZ () was an automotive assembly plant located in

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. An affiliated enterprise is the Rostov Truck Factory. On January 21, 2014, the company was declared bankrupt.

History

Construction of the Taganrog Automotive Plant began in spring 1997, under license and technology of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Daewoo Motors Daewoo Motors ( ) was a South Korean Automotive industry, automotive company established in 1937 as "National Motors". The company changed its name several times until 1982 when it became "Daewoo Motors" following its acquisition by the Daewoo, ...

, and was fully financed by

Doninvest Doninvest () was a Russian industrial group that manufactured cars in Taganrog and Aksay, Rostov Oblast. The firm produced Daewoo cars on license for the Russian market under an own brand. Their best known models were the Doninvest Assol, the ...

Finance & Industry Group, with investment volumes surpassing US$260 million. In 1998, Doninvest launched pilot semi-knocked-down production of the

Daewoo Lanos The Daewoo Lanos is a compact hatchback / sedan car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Daewoo from 1997 to 2002, and thereafter produced under license agreements in various countries worldwide. It has also been marketed as the Daewoo Sens ...

and

Daewoo Nubira Daewoo Nubira is a compact car which was produced by the South Korean automaker Daewoo from 1997 to 2002 as a 4-door sedan, 5-door hatchback and a 5-door station wagon. Development The Daewoo Nubira (J100 platform) was released in 1997 reflec ...

models. From 1999 to 2002, the company assembled the

Citroën Berlingo The Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner are a range of vans produced since 1996 and marketed under the Citroën and Peugeot marques. They are sold as light commercial vehicles or as a passenger Minivan, multi-purpose-vehicle variant with rear ...

Mk I model under the name Orion M. In 2001, it started producing the

Hyundai Accent The Hyundai Accent (), or Hyundai Verna (현대 베르나) is a subcompact car produced by Hyundai. In Australia, the first generation models carried over the Hyundai Excel name used by the Accent's predecessor. The Accent was replaced in 2000 ...

(LC), followed in 2004 by the

Hyundai Sonata The Hyundai Sonata () is a mid-size car that has been manufactured by Hyundai since 1985. The first generation Sonata, which was introduced in 1985, was a facelifted version of the Hyundai Stellar with an engine upgrade, and was withdrawn fr ...

(EF), in 2008 by the

Hyundai Elantra The Hyundai Elantra (), also known as the Hyundai Avante (), is a compact car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai since 1990. The Elantra was initially marketed as the ''Lantra'' in Australia and some European markets. In Austra ...

(XD), and in 2005 by the

Hyundai Porter The Hyundai Porter (), also known as the Hyundai H-100, is a cabover Pickup truck produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai since 1977. History First generation (1977–1981) The first generation, launched in January 1977, was called ...

(third generation) light truck. In 2008, it started production of the

Hyundai Santa Fe The Hyundai Santa Fe () is an automobile nameplate used by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai since 2000, specifically for a series of crossover SUVs. It is named after the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and was introduced for the 2001 model ...

(SM). In the spring of 2012, production of the Hyundai models was over. In 2008, it began assembly from semi-knocked-down kits of the Vortex Estina (a rebadged Chery A5). In 2010, TagAZ announced the construction of a third automotive manufacturing plant in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, with an initial $2 billion investment. According to TagAZ officials, the decision to build cars in Bangladesh was made because of its low labour costs and the export advantages it enjoys with neighbouring countries and Europe. TagAZ had already purchased land in the

Kishoreganj District Kishoreganj District () is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Earlier it was a ''mahakuma'' (sub-division) under Mymensingh District, Mymensingh district. 2495.07 km2 of land was taken from Mymensingh District, Mymensingh district to fo ...

and aimed to sell the first car assembled there by 2012. In October 2010, TagAZ started assembling the

BYD F3 The BYD F3 is a compact car that was produced by the Chinese car manufacturer BYD Auto, BYD between 2005 and 2021. The first BYD vehicle of their own design, production of the first generation model commenced in September 2005. A few variants we ...

, Vortex Corda (a modified Chery Amulet), and Vortex Tingo (modified Chery Tiggo) models. In June 2011, the company began assembly from complete-knocked-down kits of the Tagaz C10 (a rebadged version of the JAC Tojoy). In October 2011, the Tagaz C190 (a rebadged version of the JAC Rein) was added to the line-up. At one point, the company reached the capacity to simultaneously produce up to 20 different models at its facilities.

Owners and executives

TagAZ's owner was Russian entrepreneur M. Y. Paramonov, CEO of the financial-industrial

group. One-fifth of TagAZ shares were held by Sapor Invest Inc., Ikaria International Technologies Aktiengesellschaft, Pemberton Establishment, Asha Holding, and Dl Technologies GmbH.

Production capacity

The TagAZ factory at Taganrog covers an area of 60,000 m² and is divided into 5 departments: * Welding body shop * Paint shop * Assembly shop (4 lines) * Electroplating shop * Functional testing shop The conveyor line is laid out vertically over four floors of the main plant building, with a network of elevators and lifts linking the different levels. Each level is equipped with a monorail as well as compact lifting and transporting equipment. All completed vehicles undergo a road test on a track made up of varied road surfaces.

Performance

The current yearly production regime is 180,000 units of six different vehicle models.

Model lineup

TagAZ-owned brands

Over its lifetime TagAZ used three different brands:

Doninvest

Under the brand Doninvest (licensed copies of Daewoo ) * Doninvest Kondor (

Daewoo Leganza The Daewoo Leganza is an executive car (E-segment),DAEWOO Leganza
- autoevolution.com

) * Doninvest Orion (

) * Doninvest Assol (

) * Doninvest Aksaj Dozor (buggy based on

Lada Niva The Lada Niva Legend, formerly called the Lada Niva, VAZ-2121, VAZ-2131, and Lada 4×4 (), is a series of four-wheel drive, small (hatchback), and compact (wagon and pickup) Off-road vehicle, off-road cars designed and produced by AvtoVAZ sinc ...

)

Vortex

Vortex (rebadged

Chery Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., Doing business as, trading as Chery (), is a Chinese automobile manufacturer owned by Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. Founded in 1997, it is currently the fourth largest automobile manufacturer group in China, with 2,6 ...

) * Vortex Estina, rebadged from the

Chery A5 The Chery A5 is a mid sized sedan produced by the Chinese manufacturer Chery Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., Doing business as, trading as Chery (), is a Chinese automobile manufacturer owned by Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. Founded in 1997, it ...

* Vortex Estina FL-C, rebadged from the

Chery E5 The Chery E5 is a compact car produced by the Chinese manufacturer Chery from 2011 to 2016. It is based on the same platform as the Chery A5 The Chery A5 is a mid sized sedan produced by the Chinese manufacturer Chery Chery Automobile Co ...

* Vortex Corda, rebadged from the

Chery Amulet The Chery Cowin (), also known as Chery A15, Flagcloud, or Amulet, is a subcompact car produced by the Chinese manufacturer Chery from 2003 to 2010. A facelifted variant was called the Cowin 2 and was sold from 2010 to 2016. Overview The Cowin is ...

* Vortex Tingo, rebadged from the

Chery Tiggo The Chery Tiggo () is a series of crossover SUVs produced by the Chinese manufacturer Chery Automobile since 2005. The first model, Tiggo 3 was originally named Tiggo, while the slightly larger Tiggo 5 was later launched in November 2013. Models ...

File:Vortex logo.svg, Vortex logo File:Chery A5 aka Vortex Estina.jpg, Chery A5 aka Vortex Estina.

TagAZ

TagAZ * TagAZ Tager, rebadged from the

SsangYong Korando The KGM Korando, formerly SsangYong Korando () is a mini SUV or compact crossover SUV built by the South Korean automobile manufacturer SsangYong Motor Company, SsangYong from 1983 to 2006 and from 2010 onwards. The name Korando is a contraction ...

* TagAZ Road Partner, rebadged from the SsangYong Musso * TagAZ C10, rebadged from the JAC Tojoy * TagAZ C190, rebadged from the JAC Rein *

TagAZ Aquila The Tagaz AQUiLA (Ru:ТагАЗ Аквилла) (Latin for Eagle) is a compact car formerly produced by TagAZ, now defunct, in Taganrog, Russia. The Aquila is marketed by TagAZ as a " four-door coupe". The car is powered by a 107 hp Mitsubi ...

* 2009–2012 TagAZ Vega – this claimed own development was accused of being a copy of the

Chevrolet Lacetti The Daewoo Lacetti is a compact car manufactured and marketed globally by GM Korea since 2002. The first-generation Lacetti was available as a four-door sedan and five-door station wagon, styled by Pininfarina—and five-door hatchback styled b ...

; as a result TagAZ lost the rights to export the Vega and their joint venture with Ssangyong was dissolved *

TagAZ Master TagAZ () was an automotive assembly plant located in Taganrog, Russia. An affiliated enterprise is the Rostov Truck Factory. On January 21, 2014, the company was declared bankrupt. History Construction of the Taganrog Automotive Plant began i ...

* TagAZ Hardy light truck File:Tagaz_Tager.jpg, TagAZ Tager 3 door File:Tagaz_Tager_5_door.JPG, TagAZ Tager 5 door File:Tagaz Vega.JPG, TagAZ Vega File:Tagaz Master vehicle. 2010, Russia, Moscow.jpg, TagAZ Master

TagAZ produced foreign brands

TagAZ assembled the following foreign brands from knock-down kits:

Hyundai brand

LC *

EF *

III *

XD *

SM *

Hyundai County The Hyundai County (hangul: 현대 카운티) is a single-decker bus, single-decker minibus manufactured by the truck & bus division of Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai. It was introduced in 1998 as a successor to the Hyundai Chorus, Chorus. It is ...

* Hyundai Trago Xcient

BYD brand

Notes

References

External links

Official website
(archived) {{Automotive industry in Russia Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1997 Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Russia Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2014 Companies based in Rostov Oblast