Rigas Autobusu Fabrika
Encyclopedia
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
in Jelgava
Jelgava
-Sports:The city's main football team, FK Jelgava, plays in the Latvian Higher League and won the 2009/2010 Latvian Football Cup.- Notable people :*August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein - linguist, folklorist, ethnographer...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, making van
Van
A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...
s and minibus
Minibus
A minibus or minicoach is a passenger carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is used to describe any full-sized passenger carrying van. Minibuses have a...
es under the brand name Latvija.
During the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
period, RAF and UAZ
UAZ
UAZ , Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod is an automobile manufacturer based in Ulyanovsk, Russia which manufactures off-road vehicles, buses and trucks. It is best known for its Model 469 jeep, which has seen wide use as a military vehicle in Russia and around the world...
were the only producers of vans and minibuses in Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. RAF vans and minibuses were used only by state enterprises, most often as ambulances and for public transit. Private persons were not allowed to own them, the only exception being for families with at least five children.
The factory started in 1949 on the site of the Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
auto repair factory №2 and originally produced only van bodies. In 1955, it was renamed the Riga Experimental Bus Factory , and the products started to be abbreviated to RAF.
RAF’s first product was the RAF-251, a 22-seat local bus, based on the GAZ-51
GAZ-51
The GAZ-51 is the best known, most popular, and longest produced Soviet truck. Its first prototypes were produced before the end of World War II, and mass production started in 1946....
chassis. From 1958 the factory started to produce RAF-977
RAF-977
The RAF-977 was a Soviet van made by Riga Autobus Factory based on components from the GAZ-21 Volga. It was introduced in 1958 in a variety of styles including a 10-seat minibus and a cargo van...
minibuses, based on GAZ-21 Volga
Volga (automobile)
Volga is an automobile brand that originated in the Soviet Union to replace the venerated GAZ-M20 Pobeda in 1956. Modern in design, it became a symbol of higher status in the Soviet nomenklatura...
assemblies. It was planned to produce passenger, freight and specialized versions of the vehicle. The first batch of 1-ton vans was produced in 1962 and was based on modernized 977D chassis. However, the factory size was not large enough to put this model into mass production, and therefore it was moved to ErAZ
ErAZ
ErAZ was an automobile manufacturer in Yerevan mostly known for producing the van RAF-977K from 1966 to 1996. Plans to establish the ErAZ factory came about on December 31, 1964, by the Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR. The original staff were trained at the Riga Autobus Factory in...
(Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
, Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
).
In 1976, the construction of a new factory in Jelgava
Jelgava
-Sports:The city's main football team, FK Jelgava, plays in the Latvian Higher League and won the 2009/2010 Latvian Football Cup.- Notable people :*August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein - linguist, folklorist, ethnographer...
was finished designed to produce 17,000 vehicles per year. The factory produced several versions of the RAF-2203
RAF-2203
The RAF-2203 Latvija was a minibus designed and developed by Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika from 1976—1997. They were widely used throughout the USSR as fixed-run taxis , medical cars, used for Latvenergo and as a special services vehicles...
minibuses based on GAZ-24
GAZ-24
The Volga GAZ-24 is an automobile manufactured by the Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod from 1968 to 1985 as a generation of its Volga marque. A largely redesigned version - GAZ-24-10 - was produced from 1985 to 1992...
.
By the beginning of the 1990s, the RAF-2203 was completely outdated and the factory set about designing a new model. The original plan was to build a new RAF vehicle to be called the “Roksana”, designed with help from the British consultancy International Automotive Developments. The model was successfully displayed at several auto salons, but never got further than a prototype. The same thing happened to the front-wheel drive “Style” microbus.
After the collapse of the USSR, the new borders broke the supply chains and production fell drastically. An investment proposal came from the Russian GAZ
GAZ
GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod , translated as Gorky Automobile Plant , started in 1932 as NAZ, a cooperation between Ford and the Soviet Union. It is one of the largest companies in the Russian automotive industry....
company but it was rejected by the Latvian government which considered Russian capital a threat to Latvian independence. Although some Western and East Asian investors also showed their interest in RAF, all of them considered this investment too risky as the local market was too small to support large production and the Russian market was virtually closed due to the complicated political relationship of Russia and Latvia.
In 1997, the last group of 13-seat RAF-22039's was released. Ironically, the last automobile produced by the dying giant was a RAF-3311, designed to transport corpses.
In 1998, RAF went bankrupt. The only part of the company that survived was RAF-Avia
RAF-Avia
RAF-Avia is an airline based in Riga, Latvia. It operates cargo services for TNT, DHL and others, as well as transport for the military and the United Nations and passenger charters. Its main base is Riga International Airport .-History:...
, a charter airline set up using the four airplanes owned by the plant. The 120,000 m² manufacturing site, complete with machinery, is owned by JSC
Joint stock company
A joint-stock company is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company...
Balitva. They considered selling it to a western auto maker, but this proved unrealistic. As of 2002, the assembly shop was still in order and all the design documents existed, so production could be started again if there should be a need. ErAZ
ErAZ
ErAZ was an automobile manufacturer in Yerevan mostly known for producing the van RAF-977K from 1966 to 1996. Plans to establish the ErAZ factory came about on December 31, 1964, by the Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR. The original staff were trained at the Riga Autobus Factory in...
expressed interest, but probably only for the designs.
Models
- RAF-251 - GAZ-51GAZ-51The GAZ-51 is the best known, most popular, and longest produced Soviet truck. Its first prototypes were produced before the end of World War II, and mass production started in 1946....
based bus (1955-1958) - RAF-08 - 8-passenger prototype bus (1957)
- RAF-10 - GAZ-21GAZ-21The GAZ M21 Volga, the first car to carry the Volga name, was developed in the early 1950s. Volgas were built to last in the harsh climate and rough roads of the Soviet Union, with high ground clearance , rugged suspension, strong and forgiving engine, and rustproofing on a...
based 9-11-passenger bus (1957-1959) - RAF-977RAF-977The RAF-977 was a Soviet van made by Riga Autobus Factory based on components from the GAZ-21 Volga. It was introduced in 1958 in a variety of styles including a 10-seat minibus and a cargo van...
Latvija - GAZ-21GAZ-21The GAZ M21 Volga, the first car to carry the Volga name, was developed in the early 1950s. Volgas were built to last in the harsh climate and rough roads of the Soviet Union, with high ground clearance , rugged suspension, strong and forgiving engine, and rustproofing on a...
based 10-passenger van/bus/ambulance/taxi (1959-1976). Also made in D, DM and IM models.
- RAF-2203RAF-2203The RAF-2203 Latvija was a minibus designed and developed by Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika from 1976—1997. They were widely used throughout the USSR as fixed-run taxis , medical cars, used for Latvenergo and as a special services vehicles...
Latvija - 4x2 4dr van (1976—1997)- RAF-2203RAF-2203The RAF-2203 Latvija was a minibus designed and developed by Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika from 1976—1997. They were widely used throughout the USSR as fixed-run taxis , medical cars, used for Latvenergo and as a special services vehicles...
Latvija (delivery) - 4x2 4dr delivery van - RAF-2203RAF-2203The RAF-2203 Latvija was a minibus designed and developed by Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika from 1976—1997. They were widely used throughout the USSR as fixed-run taxis , medical cars, used for Latvenergo and as a special services vehicles...
Latvija (cardiology) - 4x2 4dr cardiac ambulance - RAF-2203RAF-2203The RAF-2203 Latvija was a minibus designed and developed by Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika from 1976—1997. They were widely used throughout the USSR as fixed-run taxis , medical cars, used for Latvenergo and as a special services vehicles...
Latvija (fire) - 4x2 4dr fire minivan - RAF-2203RAF-2203The RAF-2203 Latvija was a minibus designed and developed by Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika from 1976—1997. They were widely used throughout the USSR as fixed-run taxis , medical cars, used for Latvenergo and as a special services vehicles...
Latvija GAI - 4x2 4dr police van - RAF-2203RAF-2203The RAF-2203 Latvija was a minibus designed and developed by Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika from 1976—1997. They were widely used throughout the USSR as fixed-run taxis , medical cars, used for Latvenergo and as a special services vehicles...
Latvija (mail) - 4x2 4dr mail van - RAF-2203RAF-2203The RAF-2203 Latvija was a minibus designed and developed by Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika from 1976—1997. They were widely used throughout the USSR as fixed-run taxis , medical cars, used for Latvenergo and as a special services vehicles...
Latvija (taxi) - 4x2 4dr taxi van - RAF-2203RAF-2203The RAF-2203 Latvija was a minibus designed and developed by Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika from 1976—1997. They were widely used throughout the USSR as fixed-run taxis , medical cars, used for Latvenergo and as a special services vehicles...
Latvija VAI - 4x2 4dr military police van - RAF-22031 Latvija - 4x2 4dr ambulance
- RAF-2907 - special car for Summer Olympic in Moscow
- RAF-2914 - 4x2 ambulance van
- RAF-3311 Latvija - 4x2 pickup on RAF-2203 chassis
- RAF-33111 Latvija - 4x2 light truck on RAF-2203 chassis
- RAF Latvija - collector - 4x2 cash collector on RAF-2203 chassis
- RAF Latvija - tourist van, motor home
- RAF-2203
External links
- RAF (Photo, info..)
- http://www.autogallery.org.ru/raf.htm
- http://www.abc.se/~m9805/eastcars/showbrand.php?brand=latvia&lang=en