Lada Izhevsk

IzhAvto headquarters

IZh first proposed an automobile in 1958, with a prototype four-wheel drive for rural use, the NAMI 048 Ogonyok. It used a GAZ chassis and a 750 cc (46 cu in) flat-twin engine based on the Ural M72.[6] It was not produced in quantity.[6]

The Izhevsk car factory was established in 1965 with French automaker Renault as the main contractor.[7] The company started on 12 December 1966 with assembling copies of Moskvitch models 408 (as the IZh 408) with parts shipped in.[8] By the end of the year, 300 had been completed, with the number reaching 4,000 by December 1967.[8] In December 1967, the Moskvitch 412 replaced the 408 on the assembly line (as the IZh 412).[6]

Styling began to diverge from the AZLK originals beginning in 1970, when IZh kept two round headlamps instead of adopting Moskvitch's rectangular ones, and got a different grille.[8] In 1971, the IZh-built 412 was redesignated 412IE.[8] The IZh-built 412s had a reputation for being better quality than the Moskvitch originals.[9]

In 1970, IZh designed a prototype five-door hatchback (with the same high liftover) and a delivery on the 412 platform.[8] The delivery in 1972 became the IZh 2715; it was powered by a 1,478 cc (90.2 cu in) inline four, had twin rear doors and a box-like cargo area (akin to a cube van[10] ) and could carry a 350 kg (770 lb) load.[8] It and a pickup (what hot rodders would call a pickoupe),[10] announced as the 27151 in 1974, were very popular, both officially in production until 1997, with the final examples built as late as 2001.[8] Pickups were occasionally bought as far away as South America and South Africa, but were forbidden to private owners in the Soviet Union.[8] The 2715 delivery was used by the Soviet post office.[10] A windowed version with rear bed seats, the 27156, appeared in 1987.[10] Top speed was 109 km/h (68 mph) and "roadholding on wet and slippery roads rather minimal".[10] The hatchback reached the market in 1975 as the 2125 Kombi, and it gave IZh another winning model.[11]

IZh produced its one millionth unit in 1977.[12] Between 1973 and 1979 IZh was one of the makes marketed by SATRA in the United Kingdom under the Cossack Motorcycles brand; the Planeta and Jupiter models.[13]

Post-Soviet era

IzhAvto in 2010

In the 1990s production declined due to a lack of financing and improper managerial practices, and by 1999 the plant was producing fewer than 10,000 vehicles a year.[14] The company became an independent subsidiary of the weapons manufacturer Izhmash in 1996, when it was established as a separate company named DAO "Izhmash-Avto".[15] It was ultimately acquired by the SOK Group in 2000.[14] By 2003, the plant produced 94,200 cars including the Zhiguli and the Izh Oda.[16] The Kia Spectra sedan was produced for the Korean carmaker under a 2005 partnership agreement.[17] IzhAvto filed for bankruptcy in 2009.[18]

The first IZh motorcycle was 1928's IZh 1, a 1200cc across-the-frame V-twin with shaft drive, designed by the Soviet engineer Pyotr Vladimirovich Mokharov (1888–1934). They "owed a little" to contemporary DKWs.[24] In the 1970s and 1980s, these motorcycles were sold in Britain under the Cossack and Neval brands.[6] The company was the largest Soviet motorcycle maker.[6]

Production of Izh motorcycles ended in 2008.[25]

• Official website
• Media related to IzhAuto at Wikimedia Commons