AZLK

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AZLK (АЗЛК - Автомобильный завод имени Ленинского Комсомола in

Beginning in 1939, the factory's passenger cars were sold under the Moskvitch (Muscovite, a person whose origin or place of residence is Moscow) brand. The plant was originally under the authority of Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ – Gorky Automobile Factory) founded at about the same time, but by 1939 it was operationally independent.

AZLK's role in the

Following privatization in 1991, AZLK adopted Moskvitch as its corporate name, as it had already been used on all of the company's cars dating to 1939.

1929–1941

The construction of the plant called Moscow Car Assembly Factory (Russian: Московский автосборочный завод) began in 1929. In 1930 the production of Ford A and Ford AA from parts that were provided by the Ford Motor Company began. In December 1930 the plant was named KIM (Zavod imeni Kommunsticheskogo Internatsionala Molodyozhi, Russian: КИМ (Завод имени Коммунистического Интернационала Молодёжи) - Communist Youth International, literally "Factory named after Communist Youth International"), from 1930 to 1939 its official name was Moscow Car Assembly Factory named after KIM (Московский автосборочный завод имени КИМ) and then from 1939 until the beginning of the Great Patriotic War it was called Moscow Car Factory named after KIM (Московский автомобильный завод имени КИМ). In 1933, the production of the Ford A and Ford AA ceased. On August 1, 1933, the factory became a subsidiary of GAZ and produced GAZ AA using parts from GAZ. In 1939, KIM was no longer the subsidiary of GAZ and in the following year it started to produce their first own and original model, the KIM 10-50 (two-door saloon), inspired by the Ford Prefect. There was also a convertible known as the KIM 10–51. Around 500 cars of both versions were made before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. In the early 1941, approximately 2 prototypes of the KIM 10-52 were built. It was a four-door saloon which was the major difference between the KIM 10-52 and the KIM 10–50. There were plans for mass production of this car but they were interrupted by the beginning of the war.

Post-war years

In May 1945, the

The name of the company was changed from MZMA to AZLK in October 1968 in honour of the Lenin Komsomol's fiftieth anniversary.[1]^: 151

During the 1960s, AZLK proposed the M-415 and M-416 four-wheel drive vehicles. They were not proceeded with, either.^[1]: 163

In 1970, AZLK updated the M-412's styling, with the

AZLK in August 1974 sold its two millionth unit.^[1]: 168

In order to replace the

The M-408 and M-412 were discontinued in December 1975, replaced by facelifted variants, the 50 

Although the M-2138 and M-2140 were sold in Eastern Europe and exported to Belgium and Finland, where they were sold under the Scaldia marque, they were being gradually pushed off the market by a large variety of cars offered by AvtoVAZ.^[1]: 171 In response, Moskvitch launched into production a brand new and much more modern rear-wheel drive car with a roomy interior in 1986, the Moskvitch-2141, that was often upgraded and restyled during the period of its production.

Post-Soviet period

In the early 1990s AZLK still remained one of the largest auto companies in the

• Moskvitch Stock Venture (Russian: АО Москвич, from 1991 until bankruptcy in 2006)
• AZLK (Russian: АЗЛК, from 1968 to 1991, the abbreviation means Automobile Plant named after the Leninist Komsomol)
• ZMA, or MZMA (Russian: ЗМА, Russian: МЗМА, from 1945 to 1968, the abbreviation stands for (Moscow) Plant of Small Automobiles)
• KIM (Russian: КИМ, from 1939 to 1941, the name means Moscow Automobile Plant named after the Young Communist International)

References

• AZLK site
• AZLK-car support
• Russian WIKI AZLK
• (in Russian) History of AZLK