The Minsk Automobile Plant MAZ has started producing seven-seater minivans. According to ABW, citing the chairman of the regional executive committee of Brest Piotr Parkhomczyk, the automobile plant in Brest (Belarus) has already produced and is currently testing the first batch of minivans.
The model is known to be a seven-seater and will be offered with both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. According to production plans, in the future the plant will assemble up to 10 thousand of these cars per year.
The chairman of the regional executive committee of Brest did not give more details, repeating only that MAZ will produce up to 10 thousand minivans a year. We will recall that this summer it became known that MAZ is starting the production of Gazelle minibuses, and the first sets for them were delivered by GAZ.
At that time, a van with a capacity of up to 22 passengers and a fully enclosed van with a long wheelbase and high roof were announced. In addition, the version of the Gazelle that is made in Minsk differs from the one in Nizhny Novgorod by the logo on the radiator grille and the LIRA emblems on the front doors.
The localized 2.5-liter turbodiesel with 150 horsepower is combined with a 5-speed manual transmission, while Russian Gazelles NN are sold with a six-speed gearbox. In addition, Gazelle's Chinese competitors are sold in Belarus under the MAZ brand. These are JAC trucks and Foton vans. So it will not be a surprise if the new van also turns out to be a Chinese copy.