Likino Bus Plant

The plant's history dates from 2 August 1937, when a wood-processing plant was established in the small town of Likino-Dulyovo near Moscow.

In 1945 the plant was renamed the Likino Engineering Plant (LiMZ), producing electric saws, mobile power stations, winches and small locomotives.

In 1958 there was another change of name: it was decided to move production of the ZiL-158 bus from the Likhachev Automobile Plant in Moscow to Likino, and LiMZ became the Likino Bus Plant (LiAZ). The first ZiL-158 prototype was completed in Likino in January 1959, and production of the ZiL-158 was fully transferred in 1961. In total more than 7000 ZiL-158s were built until 1969.

Alongside ZiL-158 production, work went on actively to develop a new bus, the LiAZ-677. This model went into production in 1967 and remained in mass production until 8 August 1994. Including its various versions, more than 200,000 LiAZ-677s were built; until recent years it was the most common city bus in the larger cities of the USSR.

In the early 1980s the LiAZ-5256 rear-engined city bus was developed; it went into small-series production in 1985 and mass production in 1988. The model is still in production in modernised form. The semi-low-floor LiAZ-5293, the low-floor LiAZ-5292 and the LiAZ-6212 articulated bus have been developed from it. The plant belongs to the GAZ Group together with the Kurgan, Pavlovo and Golitsyno bus plants and is the Russian market leader for large city buses.