GAZelle

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "GAZelle" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

GAZelle
GAZelle with the restyled front end introduced in 2003
Overview
Manufacturer	GAZ (Gorky Automobile Plant)
Production	1994–present
Assembly	Nizhny Novgorod, Russia (GAZ) Rokiškis, Lithuania (UAB "Automašinų verslo centras", 2000–2008) Simferopol, Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine (KrimAvtoGAZ, 1995–2006) Söğütlü, Turkey (Mersa Otomotiv, 2012–) Haciqabul, Azerbaijan (Azermash, 2021–)
Body and chassis
Class	Light commercial vehicle (M)
Body style	2-door dropside truck 2/4-door pickup truck 4-door panel van 4-door minibus
Layout	FR layout
Related	GAZ-31029
Powertrain
Engine	petrol: 2286 cc ZMZ-406 I4 2429 cc Chrysler EDZ I4 2445 cc ZMZ-402 I4 2460 cc ZMZ-405 I4 2890 cc UMZ-4216 I4 LPG: 2890 cc UMZ-42164 I4 diesel: 2134 cc GAZ-5602 I4 2781 cc Cummins ISF turbo I4
Transmission	5-speed manual
Chronology
Successor	Gazelle NEXT

The GAZelle (Russian: ГАЗе́ль) is a series of light commercial vehicle—pickup trucks, vans and minibuses—made by Russian car manufacturer GAZ. At the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and transition to a market economy, the Russian automobile industry had not produced a much-demanded LCV similar to the Ford Transit or VW T4 class. The GAZelle shares many parts with the company's passenger cars (especially GAZ-31029); in fact, models produced until 1998 had the same grille. Riga Autobus Factory, which formerly manufactured minibuses for the whole USSR, remained in Latvia, and now required its vehicles be sold to the now-foreign Russian market for hard currency. Responding to this market opportunity, GAZ swiftly developed its own LCV called GAZelle (the name is a pun on "gazelle"), which, taken together with its lighter version, Sobol, now account for the majority of the Russian van and light truck market^[1] and have strong positions in the markets of other CIS countries, ranking as GAZ's most popular and successful products.^[2]

The GAZelle's design is reminiscent of the 1986 Ford Transit,^[3][4] and has remained very successful on the Russian market despite minimal upgrades.