Until now, the GAZ Group relied on diesel engines from the Yaroslavl Motor Plant to power a range of its models, including the GAZon medium-duty truck, the Next one heavy truck, the Urals Next one, and the Vector Next one bus. These engines formed the backbone of Russia’s commercial vehicle lineup, delivering a mix of durability and performance that supported the company’s broad domestic and regional ambitions. As the market evolves, the question of how to maintain supply security and adapt to changing sanctions and trade dynamics becomes more prominent, underscoring the importance of localizing critical powertrain components and expanding manufacturing footprints within Russia.
For years, industry observers noted rumors about Russia pursuing a turbo diesel solution for light commercial vehicles (LCV). Within the GAZelle family, the company has leveraged several propulsion options: the gasoline UMP Evotech (2.7 L, 120 hp), the Cummins 2.8 L diesel (150 hp), and the VW 2.0 L engine. This mix reflects a strategy to balance power, efficiency, and availability while navigating a challenging global supply chain. In recent times, there has been increasing emphasis on bringing key engine components closer to home to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers and to align with national industrial policy directions.
GAZ Group’s press office recently announced the launch of a new foundry as part of a localization project for a lightweight diesel engine that has not yet been produced in Russia. This development could signal the localization of the familiar 2.8 L Cummins ISF unit, especially as geopolitical pressures push the company to minimize external dependencies. More likely, the central initiative involves the Nizhny Novgorod (NLZ) foundry taking on blocks for the cast iron gasoline UMP Evotech 3.0, a powerplant introduced in 2018. Regardless of the precise engine family, the broader implication is clear: the introduction of GAZelle’s light trucks, including the Next one and the GAZelle NN, could feature an in-house turbo diesel within the near term, strengthening Russia’s automotive self-sufficiency.
NLZ, Russia’s most modern iron-foundry engine producer, has already begun serial production within the Gorky Automobile Plant complex. The investment in NLZ stands at 4.7 billion rubles, underscoring a strategic push to upgrade domestic manufacturing capabilities and secure a steady stream of high-quality castings for engines and ancillary components. This facility not only serves GAZ but also supplies YaMZ and UMP, establishing a full-cycle enterprise capable of meeting the needs of Russia’s engineering sector and related industries with reliable, domestically produced castings.
NLZ specializes in engine blocks and cylinder heads, but its portfolio extends well beyond those core parts. The foundry also produces castings for flywheels, crankcases, ventilated brake and clutch discs, gearbox housings and transfer cases, and components for braking systems. This breadth of capability positions NLZ as a central pillar of Russia’s automotive and industrial supply chain, enabling tighter integration across multiple powertrain and drivetrain segments while supporting export diversification as market conditions allow. Kartashov