Ulianovsk Automotive Plant

(full name, V. I. Lenin Ul’ianovsk Automotive Plant), the leading enterprise of the Av-toUAZ Production Association of the automotive industry in the USSR.

The Ul’ianovsk Automotive Plant was established in 1942 with equipment evacuated from the I. A. Likhachev Moscow Automotive Plant and produced its first motor vehicles (ZIS-5’s) in February of that year. In 1943 the plant produced more than 4,000 vehicles, as well as gas generators, low-power engines, and ammunition. The manufacture of the GAZ-69 and GAZ-69A began in 1954. The production of other vehicles modeled on the GAZ-69 began in 1958 with the manufacture of the UAZ-450, UAZ-450A, and UAZ-450D. The GAZ-69 and GAZ-69A were also the models for the UAZ-451 and UAZ-451D (introduced 1961), the UAZ-452, UAZ-452A, and UAZ-452D (introduced 1965), and the UAZ-452B (introduced 1967).

In April 1970 the automotive plant was named for V. I. Lenin. In 1972 it was converted to the mass production of the new passenger cars UAZ-469 and UAZ-469B. At the present time much work is being done to modernize and expand the plant, reequip the shops, and increase output. As of 1976 the plant had eight shops with integrated mechanization, 32 sections with integrated mechanization, 87 mechanized assembly lines, and 28 automatic assembly lines. New highly efficient equipment is being introduced, including automatic and semiautomatic machine tools and multihead lathes. Increases in the size and capacity of the plant have led to increases in production. During the eighth five-year plan (1966–70) output increased by 150.7 percent, and during the ninth five-year plan it increased by 143.5 percent.

The Ul’ianov Automotive Plant was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1966 and 1976.