Russia Speeds Up Production
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Mass Production Increases and Many New Models are Being Brought Out in Goods and Passenger Classes
SOVIET factories, for the third successive year, hold first place in Europe and second in the world, after the United States, for lorry produc
tion. Preliminary figures show that the rise in the production of lorries was from 133,000 in 1936 to 182,000 last year. The output of passenger vehicles was almost five times that of the previous year, large-scale production having been carried out in the M-1 and ZIS-101 types.
For the present year, factories have been prepared for considerably increased production. Works are to be expanded and the production of new models is to be embarked upon. At the gigantic Molotov plant in Gorki, it is aimed to raise the original annual output of 120,000 vehicles to 250,000 by the end of the present year, and to increase the plant's capacity fourfold by 1941.
The Molotov factory is, at present, working on a new six-cylindered 76 b.h.p. engine for the M-1 vehicle, it being designed to take the place of the present four-eylindered 40 blip.
s14 engine. This will give the model a speed of between 70 m.p.h. and 75 m.p.h. Improvements in the steering gear and the mounting of the engine are also to be made.
Another development at this plant will be the production of a sixcylindered engine for a 2-ton lorry, making possible a speed of 45 m.p.h.
The expansion, which has been proceeding for the past two years, at the Stalin Automobile Plant in Moscow will, in the main, be completed this year. The enlarged factory, covering 1,000 acres, will be capable—when working at full capacity—of turning out 95,000 3-ton lorries a year. The present annual production is in the neighbourhood of 70,000 lorries. The stall will be concerned-with improving
general organization at the same time as they are working on new models and introducing improvements to present designs.
Other developments at this factory include the production of an eightcylindered engine for the ZIS-5 lorries, in place of a six-cylindered model, and the output of streamlined buses with a seating capacity for 25-28 persons. Designs are being worked out for largecapacity buses for inter-urban services and for high-speed, long-distance lorries.
An improved 5-ton lorry is being designed at the Yaroslavl Automobile Plant. An important development at these works will be the-'increased production (from 192 in 1937 to 400 this year) of trolleybuses, including a number of double-deck models.
The mass production of oil engines is proceeding throughout the Soviet industry. This year, also, the Molotov and Stalin plants are to produce gas generators using wood as fuel ; lorries thus equipped are proving particularly useful in lumber camps.