Ashok Leyland
What was the parent organization of Avia from 2006 to 2016?
Avia Avia Motors s.r.o . is a Czech automotive manufacturer . It was founded in 1919 as an aircraft maker , and diversified into trucks after 1945 . As an aircraft maker it was notable for producing biplane fighter aircraft , especially the B-534 . Avia ceased aircraft production in 1963 . History . The company was founded by Pavel Beneš , Miroslav Hajn , Jaroslav František Koch and Václav Malý in 1919 and became part of Akciová společnost , dříve Škodovy závody in 1928 . During the 1930s the factory became the biggest aircraft producer in Czechoslovakia and moved to Letňany near Prague , where production continues until today . During World War II Avia made aircraft for the German Luftwaffe . After the war the company was nationalized and became involved in the automotive industry . It made aircraft until 1963 , then concentrated on truck production and continued to make aircraft engines ( producing only propellers from 1988 ) . The company was split in 1992 into propeller and truck sections , both using the Avia brand . Trucks . Early years . Soon after the war , the manufacture of fuel injection pumps , jets and roller bearings for freight vehicle transport was implemented in Avia . The factory also provided repair of trucks . In the post-war reorganization of Czechoslovak industry it was later decided that Avia would be fully transformed into making new commercial vehicles . As early as 1946 a prototype of the Škoda R-706 vehicle was developed , and the first vehicle and bus series was built in 1947 . These products were successfully exported to many countries At first the enterprise concentrated on assembling T-805 vehicles . In 1961 it switched to making the Praga V3S/S5T medium duty truck . The legendary three-tone off-road V3S was maintained in Avias manufacturing program until 1988 . The vehicle was built not only as a platform car but with different types of bodies as well . It fully utilised its construction designed for extraordinarily heavy use in the army , on site , in forest as well as in any other operation demanding a high performance under the heaviest conditions . The modifications of the Praga S5T model also included a semitrailer truck , the S5T-TN model with a trambus cab . In 1963 Avia began making chassis units for the OT 64 ( SKOT ) armoured carrier . Praga and Tatra enterprises , and also some Polish makers took part in the manufacture . The golden era of the company . In 1965 structural changes of demand concerning a small tonnage lorry appeared in both national and international markets . The Avia enterprise considered two ways ahead : developing its own new models and/or being licensed to build another companys products . The outcome was that Avia accepted the French Renault-Saviem manufacturers offer of two types of truck . Series production of the new trucks began in autumn 1968 . The larger vehicle was the Renault-SG 4 Super Galion ( later Avia A30 ) , and the smaller was the SG 2 Super Goelette ( later Avia A15 ) . The new manufacture as well as its scope required new buildings as well as modernization of existing enterprises premises . New big buildings housing advanced equipment were built and Avia became among the largest Czechoslovak car manufacturers . Annual production reached 17,000 vehicles . Over the years the Avia models were continuously modernized . The volume of the diesel engine increased from original 3.32 to 3.61 litres , and nearly all vehicle units were adapted . In 1983 the Avia A31 was developed from the Avia A30 model , and the Avia A15 ( later A20 ) furgon was succeeded by the Avia A21 model . From 1974 to 1978 modernization of A20 , 30 , and 40 models was prepared , with smaller wheels , redesigned axles , new dashboard , enhanced cab interior , etc . In 1986 , the Avia National Concern comprising also affiliates in Brno , Ivančice and Žilina was incorporated in a so-called Industry Economical Unit together with Praga , BSS , Metaz and Kutná Hora enterprises . As per 1 July 1988 , a new state enterprise , Avia Concern , comprising Avia , Praga , BSS , and Dačické Strojírny . Concern enterprises were established in accordance with the State Enterprise Act . Avia Letňany , as the parent factory , made engines and cabs and assembled all the chassis . Part of the chassis was fitted with a platform-type superstructure and also vehicles with a furgon-type body were made there . The Brno , Ivančice and Žilina factories purpose superstructures were assembled on the chassis . The Kutná Hora factory made all types of axles for Avia vehicles . The key assortment of Praga Concern Enterprise included truck and bus gear units and a number of other parts for the automotive field . The Dačické strojírny Concern Enterprise produced parts for our car manufacturers . The body assortment was still growing : box bodies , isothermic box bodies , bodies including a cooling unit , assembly platforms , container bodies , dumpers , towing trucks , and other different bodies were made . The Avia chassis was also a base for the small buses built in Bulgaria , Yugoslavia and Hungary . In 1989 the concern was split into separate businesses . In the same year , Avia Letňany launched assembly of A21 FC furgons by use of pressed parts . In 1993 Avia launched the models A21T and A31T , equipped with turbo engines . At the same time , the engine power of these vehicles was increased to 65 kW , which met the Euro I Standard . Later an engine with the power increased up to 76 kW ( or 85 kW ) and intercooler meeting the Euro II Standard was developed . Enhancements also included a modified chassis , strengthened drive unit , power steering system , modified braking system , improved cab interior and enhanced technical parameters of the vehicle . In 1992 Avia was turned into a stock company , and also Avia-Hamilton Standard , a new company with Avias equity share making aircraft propellers , was founded . One year later propeller manufacture was moved from the Letňany factory to the new premises near Stará Boleslav . This definitively terminated the aircraft production in Letňany . Daewoo subsidiary . 66% of the Avia Company was privatized by Czech entities in two waves . To ensure the further development of the company , the government began to seek a foreign investor . The relevant discussions were led with several parties concerned . In the first line , it was Renault , the French car maker , with which Avia already had good long-term experience ; followed by the German Mercedes-Benz company . However , the 1995 public tender was won by a consortium formed by Daewoo of South Korea and Steyr-Daimler-Puch of Austria . The consortium was incorporated in the Netherlands as Daewoo Steyr B.V . It bought 50.2% of Avias shares , making it the majority owner of the company . A year later the companys trading was changed to Daewoo Avia , A.S . In the same year , the company became the exclusive importer and distributor of Daewoo vehicles for the Czech Republic . In 1997 the Avia A Series was modernized for the last time . Avia A 60/ 65/ 75/ 80 models were launched . The vehicles had a completely new chassis fitted with a riveted frame , fixed front axle , front disc brakes , smaller wheels 205/75 – 17.50 and Euro II engines with the power of 76 kW and/or 85 kW . The vehicles had a five-speed/six-speed gear-box . The cabs had a new interior , advanced design and they were tilt cabs in the first line . Generally , 250,000 Avia A Series vehicles , which can be seen in high numbers on our roads even today , left the assembly line of the Letňany car factory in the period between launching the production in 1968 up to its termination , which took place on 13 November 2000 . From 1997 to 1999 , the Letňany car factory was also assembling Lublin and Lublin II light commercial vehicles imported disassembled from the Daewoo Motor Poland company . At the same time development of a completely new product continued . Daewoo Avias new Korean management team set a demanding goal consisting of development and manufacturing of a completely new medium duty truck , which would cover the 6 to 9 tonnes gvw ( gross vehicle weight ) class and would be fully competitive in Western European markets and further afield in terms of design and operating costs . The vehicle cab , which was styled in Italy and provided maximum comfort both to driver and crew , was the most significant new component of the vehicle . The designers at Daewoos engineering centre in Worthing , UK , led the development of the new cab and its interior , while Daewoo Avia specialist designers at the Letnany factory were responsible for the project co-ordination , and engine/chassis development . Total cost of the project was more than $160 million , split about 50–50 between R&D and manufacturing upgrades . The main manufacturing investments were the new Eisenmann water-based paint plant , including the e-coat plant which was installed to degrease , prepare and prime the cabs by full electro-cataphoretic full immersion process , and a new cab welding line . The parent Korean Daewoo company went bankrupt in 1999 , so the Prague factory was reconstituted in 2000 as an independent business . Much of the ongoing development work was funded by selling local real estate owned by the company including the company-owned workers flats in Letňany . A new vehicle , called the Avia D Series , was launched at the Brno truck show in June 2000 . Along with its new cab , Daewoo Avia also launched its new D432-100 engine which met EEC R49-03 ( Euro 3 ) without electronic control or EGR technology . Plans to enter Western European market also meant that the Cummins ISBe range of engines was installed as an option , as this engine made the vehicle more marketable . Initially available with the 150 hp Cummins ISBe 150 30 engine , made by Cummins Engine Company in Darlington , UK . This engine was also available as a derated 130 hp variant and in 2003 a 170 hp version was also launched . The Cummins engine , with its flat torque curve , demonstrated good fuel consumption and better performance on long journeys . From launch , the D Series was available with the ZF S5-42 five-speed gear-box and the six-speed cable-shift ZF S6-850 was launched as a compatible gearbox with the 170 hp Cummins . The D75 ( 7.5 t gvw ) proved particularly popular in the UK and Ireland . Ashok Leyland ownership . By 2004 continued losses at the factory meant a take-over was inevitable for its survival . A Czech-based investment company Odien started negotiations to buy the Daewoo Steyr B.V . 50.2% share holding—a process completed in early 2005 . Odien carried out a complete physical and financial restructuring of the company which saw the truck business unit reduced from 120 buildings on an site to only four buildings on . As part of the restructuring , production of the Daewoo Avia D432-100 engine was halted . Under Odiens ownership the Avia brand was reintroduced with a new logo , and development of the Euro IV compliant models and a new 12 t gvm model , the D120 , were begun . After discussions with several overseas manufacturers , Odien sold the truck business unit to Ashok Leyland of India in October 2006 . Avia began a new era after the acquisition . A new company Avia Ashok Leyland Motors SRO ( AALM ) was formed . Sales in 2006 reached 650 units . Sales demand remained strong in the home market and in the UK , Spain , Hungary and Ireland . In 2006 in Ireland , Avia had a 16% market share of its segment . In 2006 the new 160 and 185 hp Cummins powered Euro IV models and the D120 were launched , the latter with gcw ( gross combination weight ) of up to 22000 kg for drawbar operation . In 2007 collaboration with the Tanfield Group of the UK saw the introduction of an electric Avia , with AALM providing chassis cabs less engines , gearboxes and other diesel truck components to Tanfield subsidiary Smith Electric Vehicles for the Smith Newton all-electric truck . This was a successful collaboration with the shipment of engineless trucks forming a large proportion of Avias sales . Hundreds of Smith Electric trucks with chassis and cabs from Prague are now in use in the USA . Euro V launch in 2009 saw a further increase in power outputs , with 185 and 207 hp variants of the four-cylinder Cummins ISBe Euro V available . The weight range continued to span from 6 to 12 tonnes gvw . 2010 and 2011 were period of success for the brand both domestically and in foreign markets . Ashok Leyland helped Avia not only overcome the crisis in 2008–09 , but in joint projects opened up new markets . As a result , Avia has developed from a local truck manufacturer for Central and Eastern Europe to being a global brand . Avia was sold in Europe , the US , Middle East , Asia , Argentina and Russia . Smiths electric trucks were sold in the UK and USA , where the government was then promoting the purchase of electrified vehicles by financial subsidies . Avia fares well in Russia with joint production of small buses in partnership with Volgabus . The Russian version , called Rhytmix , was launched in October 2011 . The prototype of eight-metre long bus in design for the European Union were planned to be unveiled later , but it did not happen . In 2013 Ashok Leyand closed production in the Czech Republic and moved it to India . There it continued to produce vehicles based on Avia cabins , which were named Ashok Leyland Boss and Ashok Leyland Guru . Czechoslovak Group ownership . In April 2016 the Czechoslovak Group based in Ostrava bought Avia from Ashok Leyland . Avia will no longer be made in Letňany , but in the industrial zone in Přelouč . Avia launched a new model line Avia D Initia in September 2017 . The medium trucks meet emission class Euro VI and include four-cylinder motors Cummins ISB 4.5l ( 150 , 180 and 210 hp ) . The company wants to make about 360–400 trucks a year . Race cars . In 1956 and 1957 , Avia made a small series of twelve ( or fifteen ) light cars , made entirely from aluminium sheet . The cars have a single centrally-placed drivers seat and steering column up front and two rear seats , a sliding cabin for access , and a rear-mounted two-cylinder engine with the same displacement as the 350cc Jawa motorcycle engine , but it was a completely different development . The engine produced . At least 3 examples of this car still survive , number 3 , 6 and 10 . The last one is reported as stolen and moved to Slovakia ( Bardejov area , with new SK registration ) . The monoposto streamliner Avia 750 MKIII is a different development with BMW 750cc 4 stroke engine . This car was built in Czechoslovakia in 1956 , it excels in great aerodynamics and weighs only 400 kg . In the 1980s , the car appeared in a West German museum , in 1987 , the car was sold and traveled to Los Angeles , a year later , it was sold at auction to New Zealand , then it was bought by a company in Redmond , Washington . In 2010 , the car was bought by the Symbolic Motor Car Company from San Diego for $ 149,000 . Aircraft . Before the Second World War the company made civilian and military aircraft , including the Avia BH-1 , Avia BH-21 , Avia B-534 and Avia B-71 ( Soviet licensed Tupolev SB ) . In the Second World War , Avia was ordered to build Messerschmitt Bf 109G fighter aircraft . After the war Avia continued production as the Avia S-99 , but it soon ran out of the correct Daimler-Benz DB 605 engines . It therefore substituted the Junkers Jumo 211 engine and propeller designed for the Heinkel He 111 bomber and redesignated the aircraft as the Avia S-199 . The S-199 was the first fighter obtained by the Israeli Air Force for use during the War of Independence . But the S-199 was a problematic aircraft , unpopular with its pilots . The Jumo engine was heavier and less responsive than the Daimler-Benz unit . The torque of the large paddle-bladed propeller made control difficult . This , combined with the 109s narrow-track undercarriage also made landings and take-offs more hazardous . Also the synchronization gear did not seem to work properly , leading a few Israeli aircraft to shoot off their own propellers . Also during the war Germany built factories in Czechoslovakia to make the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter . The factories survived the war intact , so after the war production continued as the Avia S-92 . The first S-92 was built at the Letňany Research Institute in 1945 with the airframe from Avia and the twin engines from the repair works in Malešice . Junkers developed the engines as the Jumo 004 , and the Czechs redesignated them M-04 ) . The S-92 first flew on 27 September 1946 , with Avias chief pilot Antonin Kraus in control . That same year on 10 December the CS-92 flew for the first time . Delivery of the first S-92 to the Czechoslovak Air Force was on 6 February 1948 . A total of 12 were made , nine S-92 and three CS-92 , equipping the 5th Fighter Flight , until they were grounded for use as instructional airframes in 1951 . By the time Yugoslavia showed interest in buying the S-92 , Avia was looking at closing down the production line to make way for newer up-to-date aircraft . When Avia was granted a license to make the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 ( they were already making the Yakovlev Yak-23 , as the S-101 ) the S-92 production lines were dismantled . Later Avia made the B-33 , which is a licensed Ilyushin Il-10 , and the Avia 14 , which is a licensed Ilyushin Il-14 airliner able to carry 42 passengers . The Avia 14 became the largest aircraft ever made in Czechoslovakia . Aircraft production ceased in 1960 , and for several years only aircraft engines and propellers were manufactured for other Czechoslovak and foreign manufacturers . External links . - Avia Trucks official dealer ( German version ) - Avia Trucks official website - Avia Trucks official website Czech version - Avia Propeller official website