PAZ (Pavlovo Bus Plant) is the largest bus manufacturer in Russia, operating since 1951 in the town of Pavlovo in Nizhny Novgorod Region. The enterprise is among the region's key industrial facilities and brought Pavlovo nationwide fame.
History of the Founding
The plant arose on the basis of one of Pavlovo's tool-making enterprises. Its history dates back to 1930, when a decision was made to create an enterprise in Pavlovo to supply the Gorky Automobile Plant with drivers' tools and body fittings; in 1932 construction was completed and production began under the name ZATI (Automotive and Tractor Tool Plant).[1] The initiative came from the workers and engineers themselves: after Moscow turned down their request to change the plant's profile, they secretly built the first three buses and drove them to the capital on the eve of a holiday. The demonstration had the desired effect: in 1951 an official decision was issued to convert the tool plant into a bus plant.
The official conversion took place on April 24, 1952, when by decree of the USSR Government the plant was renamed the Pavlovo Bus Plant; on August 5, 1952, the first five PAZ-651 buses, with a hooded (conventional) layout on the GAZ-51 truck chassis, rolled out of the factory gates.[2][2] In 1958 the plant began producing its first in-house design — the PAZ-652, with a cab-forward (hoodless) layout.[1]
Production
The plant produces up to 9,000 buses a year in 30 variants.[3] Since December 1989 the plant's base model has been the PAZ-3205, for which more than 30 variants have been developed; every day PAZ buses carry more than 50 million passengers across Russia and the CIS countries.[4][3] Since December 1989 the plant's base model has been the PAZ-3205, for which more than 30 variants have been developed; every day PAZ buses carry more than 50 million passengers across Russia and the CIS countries.[4] Engines for Pavlovo buses are supplied by OJSC "Zavolzhye Motor Plant" (ZMZ), part of the SOLLERS company. PAZ buses are widely used as city and suburban transport throughout Russia, including in Nizhny Novgorod, where they formed the backbone of the route network.
Significance for Pavlovo and the Region
Bus manufacturing has become Pavlovo's main brand: a town formerly known for its handicraft metalwork, knives, and cutlery has gained the status of a center of Russian bus building. PAZ is the town's main employer, shaping the economic profile of the town and of Pavlovsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Region.
The plant is part of the GAZ Group, which owns 93.79% of the shares of PJSC Pavlovsky Avtobus; since 2005 the actual production of buses has been carried out by a subsidiary, LLC PAZ, 100% of whose shares are owned by the parent PJSC.[1]
References
- Official website (autobus.ru)
- Wikidata (Q2507663 — entry in the free knowledge base)
Sources
- Wikipedia (ru) — The plant traces its history to 1930, when the decision was made to establish an enterprise in Pavlovo to supply the Gorky Automobile Plant with drivers' tools and ku (archive)
- Business News. Time to Earn — The Pavlovo Bus Plant Celebrates Its 80th Anniversary (archive)
- paz-bus.ru — As of 2026, the plant's serial model range comprises more than 100 bus modifications, 6.9 to 9.75 m in length and with a capacity of 22 to 84 passengers; produced are (archive)
- nn.dk.ru — In 1968, PAZ switched to producing a new base model, the PAZ-672, for the first time in the history of Soviet bus manufacturing without stopping the main assembly line; production (archive)