View source for ErAZ

{{Infobox company
| name             = Yerevanskiy Avtomobilny Zavod (ErAZ)
| logo             = ErAZ-762 van В395МО36 (23477701980).jpg
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| foundation       = 1964
| founder          =
| defunct          = 2002
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| location_country = [[Yerevan]], [[Armenia]] (formerly [[Soviet Union]])
| area_served      =
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| industry         =
| products         = [[Van]]s
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}}
'''ErAZ''' or '''Yerevanskiy Avtomobilny Zavod''' ({{langx|hy| ԵրԱԶ or Երևանի ավտոմոբիլային գործարան}}, {{langx|ru|ЕрАЗ or Ереванский Автомобильный Завод||Yerevan Automobile Plant}}), was an Armenian automobile manufacturer in [[Yerevan]], [[Armenia]], mostly known for producing the [[van]] [[RAF-977|RAF-977K]] (as ErAZ-762) from 1966 to 1996.<ref>{{cite web |title=Armenia's Short-lived Car Industry |url=http://www.armeniablog.org/2006/12/armenias-short-lived-carbus-industry.html |publisher=The Armenia Blog |access-date=16 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716203716/http://www.armeniablog.org/2006/12/armenias-short-lived-carbus-industry.html |archive-date=16 July 2010 }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=July 2014}} Plans to establish the ErAZ factory came about on December 31, 1964, by the [[Council of Ministers of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic]]. The original staff were trained at the [[Riga Autobus Factory]] in [[Latvia]] and [[UAZ]] in [[Russia]]. ErAZ was privatized in 1995, and declared bankruptcy in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ru:ИСТОРИЯ ЕРЕВАНСКОГО АВТОМОБИЛЬНОГО ЗАВОДА |url=http://www.yeraz.auto.am/history-rus.html |publisher=auto.am |access-date=16 September 2011 |language=ru |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531154455/http://www.yeraz.auto.am/history-rus.html |archive-date=31 May 2011 }}</ref>
==History==
The company started 31 December 1964, with ''[[Minavtoprom]]'' (the Soviet agency responsible for the [[automotive industry]], to [[Badge engineering|licence-produce]] the RAF-977 at a local [[forklift]] plant).<ref>Thompson, p. 192.</ref> In 1965, the first team of 66 people was created and in the beginning to serve [[Russia]]n and [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] manufacturers.<ref name="Thompson, p.193">Thompson, p. 193.</ref> On 10 September 1965, the company moved to its first factory. The first vehicle, known as the ErAZ-762 (known as ''Yeraz'' [Dream]), was built 1 May 1966, assembling parts produced elsewhere.<ref name="Thompson, p.193"/> Production the first year was 1000 of the plant's design capacity of 2,500 vehicles per year.<ref name="Thompson, p.193"/>  Early products had payloads of {{convert|800|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and {{convert|1000|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. They are vans and furgons, which were produced for the needs of the Armenian country and other republics in [[USSR]].
The company built an improved ErAZ-762A beginning in 1969.<ref name="Thompson, p.193"/> Production climbed to 6,500 a year by 1973, and reached 12,000 in 1975, due to installation of a genuine [[assembly line]], one of the Soviet Union's first of its kind.<ref name="Thompson, p.193"/>
ErAZ designers began work on an all-new van, the ErAZ-3730, in 1971, following the lead of the [[Commer]] and [[Dodge Walk Thru]].<ref name="Thompson, p.193"/> The first trials models were assembled in 1976; they never entered production, due to a lack of funds.<ref name="Thompson, p.193"/>
The ErAZ-762B appeared in 1976.<ref>Thompson, p. 301.</ref> In April 1982, the company produced its 100,000-th vehicle.
In 1997, the company [[Bankruptcy|was declared bankrupt]] by a court decision.<ref>Один из районных судов Армении принял решение о признании банкротом Ереванского автомобильного завода // журнал «[[Za Rulem|За рулём]]», № 10, 1997. стр.13</ref>
==Models==
*ErAZ-762 (762A, 762B, 762AIV, 762VAR)<ref name=auto.am>{{cite web |script-title=ru:ЕрАЗ |url=http://www.yeraz.auto.am/products-rus.html |publisher=auto.am |access-date=16 September 2011 |language=ru |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124025619/http://www.yeraz.auto.am/products-rus.html |archive-date=24 November 2011 }}</ref> (1966-1996)
*ErAZ-3218<ref name=auto.am/> (1977-2002)
*ErAZ-3730<ref name=auto.am/> (1995-2002)
==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed>
File:RAF-977front.jpg|ErAZ-762VGP, based upon the [[RAF-977]] minibus
File:ErAZ-762 2018 stamp of Armenia.jpg|ErAZ-762 on a 2018 stamp
</gallery>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
*Thompson, Andy (2008). ''Cars of the Soviet Union''. Haynes Publishing, Somerset, UK. {{ISBN|1844254836}}.
==External links==
{{Commons category|ErAZ}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081029073441/http://www.yeraz.auto.am/ ErAZ fan page]
{{Automotive industry in Armenia}}
{{Soviet Automotive Makers}}
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[[Category:1960s cars]]
[[Category:1970s cars]]
[[Category:1980s cars]]
[[Category:1990s cars]]
[[Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers of Armenia]]
[[Category:Armenian companies established in 1964]]
[[Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1964]]
[[Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2002]]