ZAZ
The Zaporozhye automobile plant "Kommunar" was founded on the basis of a factory of the same name, which was engaged in the production of agricultural machinery. During 1958–1961, the enterprise was converted to produce the ZAZ-965 Zaporozhets passenger model, partly developed at MZMA in Moscow. In 1960, ZAZ released the first commercial 965 cars, and then began working on the next model.
At the end of 1966, the plant began production of the second generation of “Zaporozhets” under the symbol 966. The model fully entered the production line only three years later, when the previous family was discontinued. A few years later, along with a number of upgrades, the car was renamed ZAZ-968 and was ultimately produced until 1994.
In the early 1970s, Kommunar developed a promising family of front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles of a particularly small class. Prototypes of several series were made, but production did not start.
A few years later, the plant officially received the task from the relevant ministry to develop a new front-wheel drive model. To work on it, Kharkov designer Igor Galchinsky, who previously worked at VAZ, moved to the plant. Approximately in 1977, the first prototypes of this car were created, which received the ZAZ-1102 index, but development and production dragged on for another ten years.
The 1102 family, called "Tavria", began production in 1987. It took another year to reach full production volumes; in parallel, the plant worked on creating modifications of the base model. By the early 1990s, the ZAZ-1105 “Dana” station wagon and the ZAZ-1103 sedan were created. In 1994, the plant discontinued production of the outdated Zaporozhets model 968 M and began producing Dana instead, but the car was not successful and was discontinued after only 3 years. As for 1103, it was converted into a hatchback and put on the conveyor in 1999 under its proper name “Slavuta”.
In total, the Tavriy family and its derivatives lasted on the assembly line until 2011. In 2008, production of the basic three-door ZAZ-1102 was completed, and in 2011 production of the Slavuta was stopped. Instead, in 2007, the plant began producing a localized Daewoo Lanos model under the name ZAZ Chance. In 2010, the production of the Ukrainian version of Chery A13 called ZAZ Forza started. Other foreign models were also mastered, including VAZ, TATA, KIA, Chevrolet and others.
Families
In the second half of the 1960s, ZAZ, on its own initiative, began to develop a new front-wheel drive model. The work was led by chief designer Vladimir Steshenko. These cars, which received the unofficial name “Perspective”, became the forerunner of the serial “Tavria”, which appeared on the assembly line 20 years later.
Continuation of the “Perspective” project under the leadership of the new chief designer Igor Galchinsky. It was generation of experimental ZAZ-1102 that became the final one. The path from the first prototype of this generation to mass production line took 11 long years.