ZAZ or Zaporizhia Automobile Plant (modeled after the domestic LIAZ or Russian VAZ) is an automaker operating in today’s Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia. During the Soviet era, it was most famous for models adapted to the disabled, who were called negatives according to the place of production. In recent years, however, it has discontinued the production of passenger cars when it has focused on the production of buses or trucks.
Now, however, ZAZ is returning to the production of passenger cars, thanks to the Renault group, which has announced that the carmaker in Zaporozhye will produce its cars for the local Ukrainian market. The aim is to revive the Ukrainian car market, which, after the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the outbreak of war in the east of the country with pro-Russian separatists, found itself in a serious crisis for many years.
