Volga 'ministerial' car is about to revive in Vietnam

Russia's GAZ Group is considering reviving the Volga, a car brand famous not only in the Soviet Union but also in many countries around the world.

As a legend of the (former) Soviet automobile industry, the Volga brand was once a symbol of wealth, luxury and social status not only in the Soviet Union but also in many other countries, including Vietnam.

However, after 52 years of existence, the Volga brand became a thing of the past in 2008 when GAZ decided to stop producing this car line.

However, Chairman of the Russian Machinery Corporation Siegfried Wolf said that the Corporation is planning to revive the once-famous Volga brand.

Legend of the time

The history of the legendary Volga brand began in October 1956, when the Gorky Automobile Plant began producing a revolutionary product in the Soviet automobile industry. This was a luxury car, solid, durable and comfortable, comparable to the leading cars in Europe and America at that time.

GAZ-21 Volga at the classic car exhibition in Saint Petersburg,

The GAZ-21 was produced from 1956 to 1970 and became popular in the Soviet Union, mainly used by officials, taxi companies, and security agencies in the Soviet Union. In addition, Volga brand cars were also exported to more than 70 countries around the world, including Vietnam.

Nearly 640,000 GAZ-21s were produced in different versions, after which the GAZ-22 wagon model was produced with a lengthened body to carry more cargo.

After the success of the GAZ-21, GAZ introduced the second generation of the Volga – the Gaz-24. This model was produced from 1970 until 1992.

There were several versions of the GAZ-24 produced, including sedan, taxi, wagon and ambulance. The sedan and wagon versions of this car were widely exported to Western Europe, and were even assembled in Belgium under the Scaldia Volga brand.

GAZ-22 Volga wagon.

GAZ-3102 belongs to the last generation of Volga cars produced during the Soviet era in the 80s of the last century. This is an improved and modernized version based on the GAZ-24 platform with new engines, some new designs and many other improvements.

Models based on the GAZ-3102 design were produced until 2008, including the GAZ-31029, GAZ-3110 and GAZ-31105. However, due to quality control problems and the Volga itself not being able to compete with imported cars, the Volga was discontinued in 2008.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, GAZ tested two models, the GAZ-3105 and GAZ-3111. These were cars produced to luxury standards.

However, during this period, Russia had to go through a difficult economic period after the collapse of the Soviet Union, so GAZ had to stop producing the above two car models because they were not profitable.

Will the Volga revive?

Recently, Mr. Siegfried Wolf, President of Russian Machinery Corporation, the parent company of GAZ, said that the Volga brand could return after many years of absence. According to Mr. Wolf, currently, Russian Machinery Corporation does not have a line of medium-duty cargo vehicles.

“I call it a delivery vehicle, a car smaller than a GAZelle. Like a Volkswagen Caddy,” said Mr. Wolf. Currently, there are two versions of the Volkswagen Caddy in production, a two-seat cargo version and a five- to seven-seat version.

Wagon GAZ-24-02.

According to him, the Volga brand will attract customers thanks to its long-standing reputation. This brand has been around for more than 60 years and is considered a carefully manufactured car with reliable quality.

“In my opinion, Volga is the ideal brand for creating a car for technicians who need to carry a lot of goods and tools. I am not against creating such a segment. If we create such a car, it will have all the characteristics of our products that are widely known, including competitive prices, high quality and durability,” said Mr. Wolf.

He also noted that GAZ is focusing on specific customer segments who are not only focused on the brand but also on performance, power, fuel consumption and price.

Many people are still waiting for the revival of the once-famous Volga car line.

According to VNN