Moskvitch (Bulgaria)

The Moskvitch was a 20th-century Soviet/Bulgarian passenger car. Between 1966 and 1990, the Balkan factory in Lovech, Bulgaria, assembled the Soviet-designed Moskvitch 408 (later replaced by the 412/1500 and Aleko) from complete knock down (CKD) kits.

History

Beginnings

During the fall of 1965, the People's Republic of Bulgaria and the USSR signed an economic cooperation agreement for the period of 1966–1970, which contained a provision that by the end of 1968, the Balkan factory in Lovech would be completely tooled for the assembly of 15,000 Moskvitch 408 passenger cars annually. In January 1966, a group of Bulgarian engineers were sent to the MZMA Moscow Factory, later renamed AZLK. Work began in July of that year.

Production

The first Moskvitch 408 left the production line in November 1966. In early 1967, the Bulgarian Council of Ministers issued an official decision to rename Factory 14 to Factory for Passenger Cars Balkan. It was also decided to choose a new trademark for the car, with a typically Bulgarian sound. The name finally selected was Rila, although it was used only unofficially and never appeared either in the cars' documentation or on the vehicles themselves.

In 1976, the factory began to assemble the new Moskvitch 2138/2140 model, with engine displacement of 1,360 or 1,500 cubic centimetres, which were later also used in the 408 and 412 models, respectively.

Cancellation

In 1990, shortly after Bulgaria's transition to a market economy, the contract with AZLK was cancelled.

Models

Moskvitch 408 (1967–1971)
Moskvitch 408I (1970–1973)
Moskvitch 408 and 412, 1,360/1,500 engines (1973–1988)
Moskvitch 21412 "Aleko" (1988–1990)

External links

Москвич-2141 history (in Russian) (archived)
Moskvitch history (in Bulgarian)
Bulgarian Moskvitch club