LuAZ Begins Producing Russian Cars

The fate of the Lutsk Automobile Plant (LuAZ) has at last been sealed after its controlling shares were bought by Ukrprominvest a few months ago. LuAZ has thus far acquired such vital partners as the Ulyanovsk first and then the Volga Automobile Plants (UAZ and VAZ). LuAZ has begun a large-unit assemblage of Russian cars. Plans are being made to assemble 1100 UAZ cars of four modifications by the end of the year. At the same time, 20 brand-new VAZ-21-93 cars jump off the production line every day. Moreover, the plant is going to turn out 1500 of them a year and up to 4000 in the shortest term.

As we see, the quantities are not very large, but the main thing is all the shops are working. What is more, the Volynianka car is also again in production, which made it possible to place orders with Volyn’s other large enterprises, such as Elektrotermometriya, Polymer, and Kovelselmash. LuAZ receives gear boxes and rear-axle reducing gears from the Lviv hydromechanical plant and engines from Melitopol.

The Russians are actively capturing the Ukrainian market. More than 50,000 Togliatti-made and about 5,000 Ulyanovsk-made cars are sold annually in this country. Why does Volynianka not muster the courage and rush to the Russian expanses? As LuAZ general manager Vladimir Gunchik assured us, this car sells in Russia at the price of the VAZ-5. Profitable! Even more profitable is cooperation with Russian car makers, which has already enabled LuAZ to improve workmanship.

And although production at the Lutsk Automobile Plant has been thriving for several months, its fate was finally sealed only the other day. A high-level AvtoVAZ delegation arrived in Lutsk on May 23. The tripartite protocol, signed here, has clearly defined the duties of each participant in LuAZ renaissance, with investments to be coming from Ukrprominvest. The latter is to finance the complete renovation of production capacities in 2001-2005.