MAZ: History, Landmark Models and Line-up

MAZ at a glance

MAZ is a heavy-vehicle manufacturer based in Belarus that builds trucks, tractor units, dump trucks, buses, trolleybuses and special vehicles on its truck chassis. Key facts as of October 2026:

1944–1950: from a new plant to the first trucks

MAZ was founded in 1944, and its first vehicles, MAZ-205 tipper trucks, were assembled in October 1947. The company's own history records that the first five MAZ-205s were finished in time for the 7 November parade.

The early MAZ programme was closely tied to the YaAZ truck plant, which had designed the heavy truck family the new plant was set up to build. The MAZ-200 was developed at YaAZ and built there from 1947 to 1950, before production was handed over to MAZ. Engine supply stayed with the YaAZ side, later known as the YaMZ engine plant, so for decades MAZ trucks used YaMZ diesels.

1950–1965: the MAZ-200 era

The MAZ-200 defined the plant's first fifteen years. It was the first Soviet truck with a diesel engine, and MAZ built it from the early 1950s until 1965; sources differ on whether series production in Minsk began in 1950 or 1951.

The original engine was a 4.7-litre (287 cu in) YaMZ-204 diesel. From 1962 the MAZ-200 received the 11.1-litre (677 cu in) YaMZ-236 V6, the engine that would carry over into its successor. The MAZ-200 kept the conventional layout of the period, with the engine under a long bonnet ahead of the cab.

The MAZ-525 and the road to BelAZ

The MAZ-525 was a large mining dump truck built from 1950, powered by a 38.8-litre (2,368 cu in) D-12A V12 diesel. In 1959 its production was transferred to the Belarusian Automobile Plant, where it continued as the BelAZ-525 until 1965. That transfer marked the start of mining-truck production at BelAZ; payload figures quoted for the MAZ-525 vary and are left out here.

The MAZ-1500 passenger car

In 1959 the plant also built the MAZ-1500, its only passenger car prototype. It did not go into production, and MAZ remained a commercial-vehicle maker.

1965–1990: the MAZ-500 and the 5335 family

The MAZ-500 changed the layout of MAZ trucks: it was a cab-over design, with the cab sitting above the engine instead of behind a bonnet. A prototype was ready in 1955 and shown in 1958; limited production started in 1963, and full series production followed in 1965. It stayed in production until 1977.

The cab-over layout allowed a longer load platform within the same overall length, and the cab tilted forward to give access to the engine. Power came from YaMZ diesels: the YaMZ-236 V6 with 132 kW (180 PS) or, in heavier versions, the YaMZ-238 V8 with 177 kW (240 PS). The MAZ-500 family covered flatbed trucks, tippers and tractor units.

In 1977 the MAZ-500 gave way to a modernised family that ran until 1990. The MAZ-5335, the MAZ-5334 and the MAZ-53352 shared the cab-over concept and YaMZ diesels, while the three-axle MAZ-516B extended the range.

Tractor units for long-haul work

From the early 1980s MAZ added heavier tractor units, the two-axle MAZ-5432 and the three-axle MAZ-6422. Sources disagree on the start date, giving 1981 or the late 1970s. These tractors moved MAZ further into long-distance haulage and led to the later MAZ-64221.

1990s: independence, buses and the MAN joint venture

In the 1990s MAZ became a company of independent Belarus and reshaped its range. In 1991 the wheeled-tractor production was separated into a company of its own, MZKT, which has continued separately from MAZ since then.

The bigger change was the move into buses. MAZ did not build buses before 1991; its first, the MAZ-101, appeared in 1993. The MAZ-103 city bus followed in 1996 and stayed in production until 2020, and the articulated MAZ-105 was built from 1997 to 2013.

MAZ-MAN

In 1997 MAZ agreed a joint venture with the German truck maker MAN; the manufacturer dates the agreement to December. Full-scale production started in 1998, and the MAZ-MAN trucks used the cab of the MAN F90. The original goal of exporting 4x2 and 6x4 trucks to Western Europe turned out to be unrealistic because of the European Union's emission rules.

2000s to today: Euro-class trucks and city transport

Since 2000 MAZ has concentrated on two lines: modernised trucks meeting the Euro emission classes and a wider range of low-floor buses and trolleybuses. The MAZ-107 bus arrived in 2001 and the MAZ-203 city bus in 2006; the MAZ-203 became the basis of the company's current bus range.

The articulated MAZ-205 bus, which reuses the number of the 1947 tipper truck, and the MAZ-206 followed in 2009, and in 2008 the MAZ-ETON T203 trolleybus applied the 203 body to electric city transport. The MAZ-303, a newer city bus, was built from 2019 to 2021.

Assembly abroad has grown alongside the home plant:

• Vietnam: assembly of MAZ vehicles; the manufacturer lists a MAZ-208 bus for this market.
• Iran: assembly since July 2004.
• Ecuador: an agreement of October 2013 to build buses on the MAZ-4371 and MAZ-5340 chassis.
• Serbia: the bus maker BIK builds the BIK-203 on the MAZ-203 platform.

Motorsport, records and engineering firsts

MAZ's engineering firsts are its early ones. The MAZ-200 was the first Soviet truck with a diesel engine, and the MAZ-500 made the tilting cab-over layout standard in the plant's range from 1965.

MAZ is not a regular motorsport name. The manufacturer says it built a sport truck for the 2016 Dakar Rally; no results or further rally programme could be confirmed from sources outside the company. MAZ also differs from other former Soviet heavy-truck makers such as KrAZ in having added city buses and trolleybuses to its range.

Ownership, factories and production today

MAZ is wholly owned by the Belarusian state and operates as an open joint-stock company. It is the managing company of the BELAVTOMAZ holding, which German sources describe as a group since 2009, with subsidiaries in several Belarusian towns making components, buses and trailers.

The manufacturer's English website lists the current core products as of October 2026:

• MAZ-5440E9 tractor unit
• MAZ-6516M9 8x4 dump truck
• MAZ-6310E9 flatbed truck
• MAZ 203088 city bus to Euro 6
• MAZ-6902B5 refuse truck, MAZ-5917B2-F10 road sweeper and MAZ-650108 grain carrier
• KS-55727 "Zoubr" truck crane

The MAZ-5440 and the MAZ-6516 appear in both the manufacturer's list and independent product summaries, which makes them the clearest examples of the current range. The full set of models on 1cars is in the MAZ catalogue.

Landmark models

These are the MAZ models that marked each stage of the company's development, from the first tipper to the current bus platform.

MAZ timeline

The dated milestones below run from the founding of the plant to its most recent bus models.

Current model line-up

As of October 2026, the MAZ range is built around Euro-class tractor units, dump and flatbed trucks, and city buses based on the 203 and 206 platforms. Launch years are shown only where sources agree.

MAZ in numbers

Only a few MAZ figures can be tied to a year. In 2016 the company employed 16,594 people. In January 2014 its range covered more than 500 truck models and modifications and almost 20 bus models.

The manufacturer also lists production milestones, such as its millionth truck and its 10,000th bus, but without dates. Those figures are not repeated here as statistics until a dated source confirms them.

Engines of the landmark trucks

The table lists the engines named in this history, with the figures that sources agree on.