RussiaThe Serpukhov Motorcycle Plant (SMZ) was founded in 1939 in the city of Serpukhov in the Moscow region. Initially, its main products were motorcycles, but in 1952, it began producing the first motorized wheelchair in the USSR – the SMZ S-1L. It had a primitive and inconvenient design: three wheels, an open 2-seater body with one headlight, mechanical brakes only on the rear wheels and a two-stroke 1-cylinder motorcycle engine with a volume of 123 cm3 located at the rear. In 1956, a more powerful engine with a volume of 346 cm3 was installed on the S-3L modification, but this did not solve the main problems of the motorized wheelchair: the inability to overcome climbs, unreliability and the possibility of tipping over. In 1958, the plant released the SMZ S-3A, a two-seater 4-wheel semi-automobile-motorcycle with a two-stroke 1-cylinder engine with a capacity of 8 hp. The next generation motorcycle – SMZ S-3D, which already resembled a full-fledged car with a closed body, appeared only in 1970. With a length of 2825 mm and a weight of 500 kg, its engine developed only 12 hp, which affected the dynamics. In total, from 1952 to 1997, the enterprise manufactured about 500 thousand motorcycles, and most of them were provided to disabled people for free.
In 1989, the Serpukhov Motorcycle Plant was included in the AvtoVAZ production association, and a year later it began producing VAZ-1111 Oka cars. In 1995, production of the Oka was completely transferred to the SMZ plant, which was renamed the Serpukhov Automobile Plant (SeAZ). In 2008, due to the economic crisis, the SeAZ automobile conveyor was stopped.
The Serpukhov Motorcycle Plant (SMZ) was founded in 1939 in the city of Serpukhov in the Moscow region. Initially, its main products were motorcycles, but in 1952, it began producing the first motorized wheelchair in the USSR – the SMZ S-1L. It had a primitive and inconvenient design: three wheels, an open 2-seater body with one headlight, mechanical brakes only on the rear wheels and a two-stroke 1-cylinder motorcycle engine with a volume of 123 cm3 located at the rear. In 1956, a more powerful engine with a volume of 346 cm3 was installed on the S-3L modification, but this did not solve the main problems of the motorized wheelchair: the inability to overcome climbs, unreliability and the possibility of tipping over. In 1958, the plant released the SMZ S-3A, a two-seater 4-wheel semi-automobile-motorcycle with a two-stroke 1-cylinder engine with a capacity of 8 hp. The next generation motorcycle – SMZ S-3D, which already resembled a full-fledged car with a closed body, appeared only in 1970. With a length of 2825 mm and a weight of 500 kg, its engine developed only 12 hp, which affected the dynamics. In total, from 1952 to 1997, the enterprise manufactured about 500 thousand motorcycles, and most of them were provided to disabled people for free.
In 1989, the Serpukhov Motorcycle Plant was included in the AvtoVAZ production association, and a year later it began producing VAZ-1111 Oka cars. In 1995, production of the Oka was completely transferred to the SMZ plant, which was renamed the Serpukhov Automobile Plant (SeAZ). In 2008, due to the economic crisis, the SeAZ automobile conveyor was stopped.