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| GAZelle | |
|---|---|
 GAZelle with the restyled front end introduced in 2003 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | GAZ (Gorky Automobile Plant) |
| Production | 1994–present |
| Assembly |
|
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Light commercial vehicle (M) |
| Body style | 2-door dropside truck 2/4-door pickup truck 4-door panel van 4-door minibus |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Related | GAZ-31029 |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | RAF-2203 |
| Successor | Gazelle NEXT |
The GAZelle (Russian: ГАЗе́ль) is a series of light commercial vehicle—pickup trucks, vans and minibuses—made by Russian car manufacturer GAZ. At the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and transition to a market economy, the Russian automobile industry had not produced a much-demanded LCV similar to the Ford Transit or VW T4 class. The GAZelle shares many parts with the company's passenger cars (especially GAZ-31029); in fact, models produced until 1998 had the same grille. Riga Autobus Factory, which formerly manufactured minibuses for the whole USSR, remained in Latvia, and now required its vehicles be sold to the now-foreign Russian market for hard currency. Responding to this market opportunity, GAZ swiftly developed its own LCV called GAZelle (the name is a pun on "gazelle"), which, taken together with its lighter version, Sobol, now account for the majority of the Russian van and light truck market[1] and have strong positions in the markets of other CIS countries, ranking as GAZ's most popular and successful products.[2]
The GAZelle's design is superficially reminiscent of the 1986 Ford Transit,[3][4] but the two cars have nothing in common.[5][6][7] It has remained very successful on the Russian market despite minimal upgrades.
- ^ "Поехали на рынок: продажи коммерческого транспорта в России растут | Бизнес". Forbes.ru. 2018-02-15. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
- ^ "Russia launches production of GAZelle Next commercial vehicle in Turkey". TASS (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-04-24.
- ^ Gibbs, Nick (15 October 2012). "Russia revival: Contract assembly, cargo vans fuel GAZ rebirth". Automotive News Europe. Archived from the original on 2021-02-03.
- ^ Klimov, Alexander (2019-07-22). "GAZelle celebrated 25th anniversary!". Tretiy Rim. Archived from the original on 2023-08-25.
- ^ S. Iunes: Иномарка, «похожая» на «Газель». Сравнение «Форд-Транзит» и «Газель». In: Грузовик Пресс, 06/2005 (russian)
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