Minsk Automobile Plant (shortened MAZ) is a state-run automotive manufacturer association in Belarus, one of the largest in Eastern Europe.
History
After a decision by the Soviet Industrial command in August 1944, the plant was begun as the Second World War ended.[2] The first MAZ model, the MAZ-200, entered production in 1949. This truck used General Motors-designed two-stroke engines and was a continuation of a truck developed by the Yaroslavl Motor Plant (YaMZ), who also built the engines.[2] Later on, YaMZ's own original engines were developed and implemented in the MAZ-500 series which was first shown in 1955, but only reaching full series production in 1965.[3]
Apartment buildings, shops, medical clinics, cinemas etc. were built in close proximity to the MAZ plant, providing plant workers with local (though limited) necessities. On many of the construction sites, German prisoners of war were working together with Belarusian construction workers.
It manufactures heavy-duty trucks, buses,