GAZ Launches New NEXT LCV

Russian truck maker GAZ officially launches production of its critical GAZelle NEXT light-commercial vehicle at its manufacturing complex in Nizhny Novgorod today.

The NEXT, which will be offered in several configurations and with an unprecedented 3-year/124,000-mile (200,000-km) warranty in Russia, is being counted on to burnish GAZ’s image in the domestic market, where it already controls more than half of the LCV sector.

On hand to push the button on production is Russian Federation Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, signaling the importance of the NEXT not only to GAZ but also to the country’s still-emerging auto industry and economy overall.

“The release of a new model is always an exciting moment,” Medvedev says. “But most importantly this model is really investing in the future.

“Over the past 10 years, labor productivity has increased by four times at GAZ,” he adds. “Now we are making these changes in all production industries, and GAZ is an absolute model for them.”

Output is being launched with the drop-side model in both standard and long-wheelbase versions, but ultimately the NEXT will be offered in cargo and passenger versions, including minibuses, ranging from 2.8 tons to 5 tons gross vehicle weight.

The NEXT, at least for now, will be sold alongside the existing GAZelle LCVs and command a higher price.

GAZ says it spent RR5 billion ($165 million) and 18 months developing the NEXT. Although the new model shares about half its parts with the current-generation truck, the auto maker has resourced some critical components with multinational suppliers in a cost-effective, almost surgical upgrade that is giving it the confidence to extend factory backing by another year.

Key suppliers include ZF (steering), Mando (shocks and brake components), Anvis (blocks), Bosch (brake components) CSA Castellon (adjustable steering column), Sachs (clutch), Takata (seatbelts), Delphi (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and Isringhausen (driver’s seat).

The NEXT offers a more spacious cabin than its predecessor, wider door openings, an independent double-wishbone front suspension, improved cooling system and more robust leaf springs and brakes.

The cargo platform has been enlarged and safety features have been added, including a collapsible steering column and pre-tensioning seatbelts. Optional airbags will become available later this year.

“The GAZelle Next will be the most reliable transporter in Russia,” Siegfried Wolf, chairman of GAZ parent Russian Machines, tells reporters at a backgrounder in February.

“Our quality now is accepted and expected,” he adds, noting GAZ now is exporting vehicles to other Commonwealth of Independent States countries and has set up assembly operations in Turkey to serve that market.

Prices are expected to start at the equivalent of about $22,000 for a Gazelle equipped with a Cummins diesel. Gasoline, liquefied-petroleum-gas and compressed-natural-gas versions also will be offered.

The current GAZelle, engineered some 23 years ago, runs the equivalent of about $14,000-$15,000 in the Russian market, and there are more than 1.8 million of them still on the road.

GAZ President and CEO Bo Andersson tells WardsAuto in February he expects the sales mix to run 60/40 in favor of the NEXT, but says he has underestimated new models before, so demand could skew even more heavily toward the now-launching truck.

“We’re 100% flexible,” he says, meaning production can go as high as necessary. Last year, GAZ sold more than 100,000 GAZelles.

The new model meets Euro 4 emissions standards in Russia and Euro 5 for the Turkish market. Its Cummins diesel uses an exhaust-gas-recirculation system, not selective-catalytic-reduction technology, to meet the standards.

GAZ says it conducted more than 1.2 million miles (2 million km) of testing in developing the new model. Plant upgrades include new stamping and welding lines and the installation of new quality-control stations.

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