ErAZ or Yerevanskiy Avtomobilny Zavod, was an Armenian automobile manufacturer based in Yerevan, Armenia, mostly known for producing the RAF-977K van (ErAZ-762) from 1966 to 1996.[1] Plans to establish the ErAZ factory came about on December 31, 1964, by the Council of Ministers of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. The original staff were trained at the Riga Autobus Factory in Latvia and UAZ in Russia. ErAZ was privatized in 1995, and declared bankruptcy in 2002, closing its doors that same year.[2]
History
The company was founded on 31 December 1964, with Minavtoprom (the Soviet agency responsible for the automotive industry), to licence-produce the RAF-977 at a local forklift plant.[3] In 1965, the first team consisting of around 66 people was created and in the beginning to serve Russian and Ukrainian