After mastering the production of the basic Moskvich-408 sedan, Alexander Andronov threw the entire OGK’s efforts into quickly designing a new engine, first bearing the index 409, then 412. However, its production was mastered by a related plant in Ufa, subordinate to another ministry. In addition, in 1965, OGK unexpectedly received a new task – to prepare a set of documentation and equipment for a backup plant in Izhevsk, to distribute documentation for Moskvich components and assemblies to machine-building plants in different cities. On the one hand, this made it possible to saturate the domestic and export markets and sharply reduce the shortage of spare parts for Moskvich. On the other hand, the plant did not have enough strength and funds to build a new car of the 1969-1970 model.
In the time provided for by the 1961 plan, it was possible to master only the modernized car of the 1967 model with a new engine – Moskvich-412. In addition, a significant part of the new 412 engines began to go to Izhevsk, which did not allow Moskvich-408 to be discontinued in the early 1970s. Due to difficult relations with the Ufa Motor Plant (UMZ), MZMA (later AZLK) lost control over the further modernization of the engine and the development of production of its modifications.
AZLK was unable to master the production of a new body specially designed for the 412 model in time, so in 1967 it went into production in the old body, adapted for the installation of both the 408 and 412 engines. In 1969, when the new body finally appeared on the assembly line, the model received a new name – Moskvich-412IE.