KrAZ: History of the Kremenchuk Truck Plant and Its Landmark Models

KrAZ at a glance

KrAZ, short for Kremenchuk Automobile Plant, builds heavy trucks with three-axle and all-wheel-drive layouts as its speciality. The older spelling "Kremenchug" still appears in some catalogues and in the address of this page.

From a bridge works to heavy trucks (1945–1959)

KrAZ did not start as a vehicle maker. An order of 31 August 1945 set up a mechanical bridge-building plant in Kremenchuk, and construction began in 1946. Over roughly eight years it produced about 600 bridges with a combined length of around 27 km (16.8 mi), including crossings over the Dnipro and the Dniester.

In 1956 the plant was reorganised to make combine harvesters and other farm machinery. Output in the first two years is usually quoted as about 11,000 farm machines.

The decisive change came in April 1958, when the Soviet authorities moved heavy-truck production from the YaAZ plant to Kremenchuk. On 10 April 1959 the first two KrAZ-222 dump trucks were assembled, largely from YaAZ-supplied units. They were 10-tonne (22,046 lb) 6x4 trucks with a two-stroke diesel engine.

1959–1969: the first KrAZ trucks and early exports

The first decade was spent building and improving the transferred YaAZ designs. The early line-up is usually listed as the KrAZ-222 dump truck, the KrAZ-219, the KrAZ-221 and the KrAZ-214 6x6 truck, although one history dates the 214 and 221 to 1960. The plant's own history dates the first KrAZ-214 to 30 November 1959, with 25 built that year and 32,870 in total by 1969, of which 2,867 were exported.

Exports began early. By 1961 more than 500 KrAZ trucks had been shipped to 26 countries, among them Argentina, India, China and Vietnam.

The key technical step was the engine. In 1964 the KrAZ-257, a 12-tonne (26,455 lb) flatbed, replaced the 219 and introduced the YaMZ-238 four-stroke V8 diesel in place of the older two-stroke units. The KrAZ-258 tractor unit followed in 1966, and the KrAZ-256 6x4 dump truck also used a four-stroke diesel. The 100,000th KrAZ truck was completed by the end of 1968.

1967–1990: the KrAZ-255 era and AvtoKrAZ

The KrAZ-255 defined the plant for a quarter of a century. It is a three-axle 6x6 truck powered by the YaMZ-238 14.9 L (909 cu in) V8 diesel, rated at 180 kW (240 hp), with a kerb weight of 11,950 kg (26,345 lb). Mass production is usually dated to 1967, although some sources date the changeover to 1965, and output ended in 1994. The main variants were the 255B cargo and towing truck, the 255V tractor unit and the 255L timber truck, dated to 1970 in one history.

On 15 January 1976 the plant became the AvtoKrAZ production association. It later added component suppliers: a spring plant in Synelnykove joined in 1983 and a propeller-shaft plant in Kherson in 1986.

The KrAZ-260 family of 6x6 trucks entered production in 1979, although one German-language source dates the series start to 1982. Its YaMZ-238L V8 is rated at 221 kW (300 PS) at 2,100 rpm, and payload is 9,000 kg (19,842 lb). It was built until 1993. The catalogue also covers the KrAZ-250, a later Soviet-era model whose production dates differ between sources.

Output kept climbing. The 500,000th truck left the line on 30 April 1984, and in 1986 the plant built 30,655 trucks with 19,259 employees, which is usually cited as the largest heavy-truck output in Europe at the time. Trucks were sold to 58 countries that year, according to the company profile.

1991–2003: independence and a collapse in demand

After 1991 KrAZ became a Ukrainian company, and demand for heavy trucks collapsed. The figures quoted in plant histories show the scale: about 25,094 trucks in 1991, 1,919 in 1996 and 827 in 1999.

The plant answered with new models and new partners. The KrAZ-6510, a dump truck offered as a 4x4 or 6x4, went into production in 1992. The KrAZ-6322 6x6 truck followed in 1994. A cooperation with Iveco started in 1995.

AvtoKrAZ was registered as a holding company in June 1996, and privatisation began in 1999. In 2001 a block of shares was bought by Mega-Motors, a joint Ukrainian-German enterprise. An assembly operation in Vietnam opened in 2003.

2004–2013: export orders and the fifth generation

Export contracts helped output recover after the low point of 1999. In 2004 KrAZ received an order from Iraq for about 2,200 to 2,300 trucks, depending on the source, and the same year it gained ISO 9001:2000 certification.

On 27 January 2006 the 800,000th KrAZ was built, a KrAZ-6446 tractor unit. Output reached about 4,206 trucks in 2007 before the economic crisis cut it to around 280 in 2009. The first fifth-generation model, the C20.2, appeared that year. Production recovered to about 1,002 trucks in 2010 and stood at about 891 in 2013.

2012 onwards: AutoKrAZ and the current range

The company was renamed Public Joint-Stock Company AutoKrAZ in 2012. Its range combines the long-running 6322 with newer trucks named in H- and C-series.

The KrAZ-6322 remains the reference model of this period. Its YaMZ-238DE2 turbodiesel displaces 14.86 L (907 cu in) and produces 243 kW (330 PS) at 2,400 rpm and 1,225 Nm (904 lb ft), driving through a five-speed manual gearbox. Kerb weight is 12,100 kg (26,676 lb) and top speed is 121 km/h (75 mph). After 2014 a Ford Ecotorq 9.0 L (549 cu in) engine was offered as an alternative.

The main models of the current and recent range:

In 2014 the company listed 34 basic types and more than 300 modifications. Export versions could be ordered with Deutz, Weichai, Mercedes-Benz or Cummins engines of up to 279 kW (380 PS), and emission levels from Euro 0 to Euro 4 depending on the market.

Landmark models that defined KrAZ

These are the trucks that marked each stage of the plant's history. Start years for some models differ between sources, so the table gives the most widely quoted dates.

Where KrAZ trucks work: timber, construction and municipal fleets

Most KrAZ trucks were built for heavy work away from good roads. All-wheel-drive and three-axle chassis suited forestry, quarries and building sites, and the civilian derivatives grew around those jobs.

• Timber trucks: the 255L from 1970, later the 6133M6 and 64372.
• Dump trucks: the 222, 256, 6510 and H23.2 families for quarries and building sites.
• Concrete mixers: the 6233R4, 6333R4 and 7133R4.
• Municipal vehicles: the 65055DM combined dump truck and snow plough.
• Tankers, flatbeds and tractor units on the same chassis families.

By 1986 KrAZ trucks had been sold to 58 countries, according to the company profile.

Records and engineering firsts

KrAZ's records are about production volume. The best year, 1986, with 30,655 trucks, has not been matched since. The milestones of total output are well documented: 100,000 trucks by the end of 1968, 500,000 on 30 April 1984 and 800,000 on 27 January 2006. The 750,000th truck is dated to March 1993 in one source.

On the engineering side, the switch to the YaMZ-238 four-stroke V8 in 1964 replaced the two-stroke diesels of the first generation. The 255L gave forestry users a dedicated 6x6 timber truck, and by 2014 export versions with Deutz, Cummins and Mercedes-Benz engines were offered up to the Euro 4 emission level.

Ownership changes and the factory today

KrAZ has changed its legal form several times, from a state plant to an association, a holding and a joint-stock company. The steps in order:

1. 1976: production association AvtoKrAZ formed on 15 January.
2. 1996: AvtoKrAZ registered as a holding company in June.
3. 1999: privatisation begins.
4. 2001: Mega-Motors, a Ukrainian-German joint enterprise, buys a block of shares.
5. 2012: renamed Public Joint-Stock Company AutoKrAZ.

The company was for many years described as part of the Finance and Credit industrial group, and in November 2022 it was reported to have passed into state ownership. Its workforce, 19,259 in 1986, was given as 3,269 in 2017.

Annual output shows how far the plant fell and how far it recovered. The 1986 figure is confirmed by several sources; the others come mainly from one published series and should be read as approximate.

KrAZ timeline

These are the dated milestones of KrAZ history.

KrAZ in numbers

• 30,655 trucks built in 1986, the best year in the plant's history.
• 800,000 trucks built by 27 January 2006.
• 26 export countries by 1961 and 58 by 1986.
• 32,870 KrAZ-214 trucks built in 1959–1969.
• 34 basic types and more than 300 modifications listed in 2014.

For another Ukrainian vehicle maker with Soviet-era roots, see the history of LAZ, the Lviv bus plant.