Editing Riga Autobus Factory

{{short description|Manufacturer of vans and minibuses under the brand name Latvija}}
{{Update|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox company
| name             = Riga Autobus Factory (RAF)
| logo             = Logo of RAF.jpg
| type             =
| fate             =
| predecessor      =
| successor        =
| foundation       = 1949
| founder          =
| defunct          = 1998
| location         =
| locations        =
| location_city    = [[Riga]]
| location_country = [[Latvia]] (formerly [[Soviet Union]])
| area_served      =
| key_people       =
| industry         =
| products         = [[Bus]]es and [[van]]s
| production       =
| services         =
| owner            =
| num_employees    =
| divisions        =
| subsid           =
| homepage         =
| footnotes        =
}}

[[File:Moscow museum bus RAF (9696360756).jpg|thumb|RAF-251 bus]]
[[File:RAF-977DM WGrabar.jpg|thumb|[[RAF-977]] minibus]]
[[File:Latvija RAF.JPG|thumb|[[RAF-2203]] Latvija]]
[[File:RAF-22031-01-5382.JPG|thumb|right|[[RAF-2203|RAF-22031-01]] ambulance]]
[[File:RAF-2907 (2203) for Moscow 1980.JPG|thumb|RAF-2907 (special edition for the [[1980 Summer Olympics]] in Moscow)]]

The '''Riga Autobus Factory''' ('''RAF'''; {{Langx|lv|Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika}}) was a [[factory]] in [[Jelgava]], [[Latvia]], making [[van]]s and [[minibus]]es under the brand name '''Latvija'''.

==History==

=== Origins, Riga period ===
During the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] period, RAF and [[UAZ]] were the only producers of vans and minibuses in [[Soviet Union]]. RAF vans and minibuses were used only by state enterprises, most often as [[ambulance]]s and for public transit. Private persons were not allowed to own them, the only exception being for families with at least five children.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

In 1949, the factory began producing van bodies on the site of the [[Riga]] auto repair factory No.2 (commonly known as RARZ<ref>Thompson, Andy. ''Cars of the Soviet Union'' (Haynes Publishing, Somerset, UK, 2008), p.94.</ref>). In 1955, it was renamed the Riga Experimental Bus Factory ({{langx|lv|Rīgas eksperimentālā autobusu fabrika}}, {{langx|ru|Рижский Опытный Автобусный Завод}}), and the products started to be abbreviated to RAF. It would become the main Soviet producer of [[minibus]]es.<ref name="Thompson, p.94">Thompson, p.94.</ref>

RAF's first product was the [[RAF-251]], a 22-seat local bus, based on the [[GAZ-51]] chassis (which RAF also built), with a wood and metal body.<ref name="Thompson, p.94"/> There was also a passenger- and freight version (''Kombi''), the 251T, with a payload of 14 passengers and {{convert|800|kg|lb|abbr=on}} cargo.<ref name="Thompson, p.94"/>

From 1958, the factory started to produce [[RAF-977]] minibuses, based on [[Volga (automobile)|GAZ-21 Volga]] engine (between the front seats,<ref name="Thompson, p.95">Thompson, p.95.</ref> rather like the [[Dodge A100]]; the engine was accessible through an inside hatch<ref name="Thompson, p.95"/>), transmission, axles, and steering.<ref name="Thompson, p.95"/> It was planned to produce passenger ("route taxis" for airports, and for sporting teams), freight, mail, and ambulance versions of the vehicle, to replace the modified [[Station wagon|estate]]s then in use.<ref name="Thompson, p.94"/> Drawing inspiration from the [[Volkswagen Microbus|VW Type 2]], it had a front-mounted water-cooled {{convert|2,445|cc|cid|abbr=on}} engine (based on the Volga's, with a lower [[compression ratio]]), and seated ten.<ref>Thompson, pp.94-95.</ref> It debuted in 1957, and ten were built for display at that year's Moscow Youth Festival, leading to a proposed name Festival.<ref name="Thompson, p.95"/> The first batch was produced in 1959, under the new RAF 977 name.<ref name="Thompson, p.95"/> It got {{convert|13|L/100 km|mpgus mpgimp|abbr=on}} and could reach {{convert|62|mph|km/h|abbr=on}},<ref name="Thompson, p.95"/> the majority of those being hand-built.<ref name="Thompson, p.94"/>

In 1965, RAF proposed two prototypes, with the hope of persuading ''Minavtoprom'' to finance a new factory: a conventional version, comparable to the [[Ford Transit]] (dubbed the RAF 962-I), or a [[Cab over|forward control]] version, similar to the [[Renault Estafette]] (dubbed the 962-II).<ref name="Thompson, p.194">Thompson, p.194.</ref> RAF management, in a rare move for a Soviet company, created two competing teams to individually design a new van.<ref name="Thompson, p.194"/> The conventional 962-I was selected, which seemed less likely to provide the money for an all-new facility.<ref>Thompson, pp.194-195.</ref> So RAF tried to persuade the selection committee to adopt the more radical 962-II, and did.<ref name="Thompson, p.195">Thompson, p.195.</ref>

A one-tonne variant was based on a modernized 977D chassis. However, the factory size was not large enough to put this model into mass production, and therefore it was moved to [[ErAZ]] ([[Yerevan]], [[Armenia]]).

=== Move to Jelgava, decline and collapse ===
Construction of a new factory in [[Jelgava]] (to build the new 962-II, now known as the [[RAF-2203|RAF-2203 Latvia]]) was begun on 25 July 1969, and finished in February 1976.<ref name="Thompson, p.195" />  It was designed to produce 17,000 vehicles per year. The factory produced several versions of the RAF-2203, which was widely sold in the Soviet Union and exported, mainly to Socialist bloc and aligned nations.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-01-23 |title=Latvijas noslēpums: kā kvalitatīvie RAF mikroautobusi kļuva par brāķiem |url=https://jauns.lv/raksts/9viri/424507-latvijas-noslepums-ka-kvalitativie-raf-mikroautobusi-kluva-par-brakiem |access-date=2022-08-13 |website=Jauns.lv |language=lv}}</ref>

The massive factory created profound challenges for Soviet-occupied Latvia. During its planning, local economists warned that the project was unfeasible in the long term, but were ignored by the Soviet government. Due to a lack of local manpower, workers from all around the Soviet Union were brought to Jelgava, increasing the already high levels of immigration and putting strain on local infrastructure and the ethnic relations between Latvians and the mostly Russian-speaking newcomers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Zvrbulis |first=Arnis |date=2006-06-12 |title=RAF masīva spožums un posts |url=http://www.jelgavniekiem.lv/?act=4&art=1894 |access-date=2022-08-13 |website=www.jelgavniekiem.lv |language=lv}}</ref> The proportion of Latvians living in Jelgava shrank from 80% to less than 50% during the Soviet times. An entirely new neighbourhood of Jelgava, bearing the RAF name, was built.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2018-12-15 |title=The rise and fall of the RAF minibus factory |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/society/the-rise-and-fall-of-latvias-raf-minibus-factory.a303005/ |access-date=2022-08-13 |website=eng.[[lsm.lv]] |language=en}}</ref>

In addition, even with the imported workforce, the factory suffered from a lack of qualified manpower: engineers (later on, also [[Conscription in the Soviet Union|conscript]] soldiers of the Soviet Army) were made to work on the production line. Quality issues were rampant and well-known; on some days, all of the manufactured vehicles turned out to be defective. Even the large factory, in the end, turned out to be too small (with a planned yearly output of just 12,000 cars per year) to install important machinery, slowing down production.<ref name=":2" /> A heavy blow for the factory came during [[Perestroika]] – around 1986, the factory was stripped of the [[State quality mark of the USSR]]. In 1987, the factory organized one of the first open management contests in the USSR, with [[Viktor Bossert]] from [[Omsk]] elected as director by the factory workers. Bossert tried to improve quality, even announcing a competition with [[Renault]]'s [[Renault Trafic|Trafic]] van, but couldn't overcome the ineffective supply chain of the Soviet [[planned economy]] and the lack of incentive and competition due to guaranteed tenders from the [[Gossnab]]. He left the factory in 1990.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

By the beginning of the 1990s, the RAF-2203 was completely outdated and the factory set about designing a new model. The original plan was to build a new RAF vehicle to be called the [[RAF M1 'Roksana'|M1 "Roksana”]], designed with help from the British consultancy ''International Automotive Developments''. The model was successfully displayed at several auto salons, but never got further than a prototype. The same thing happened to the front-wheel drive 1994 [[RAF M2 'Stils']] (“Style”) microbus.<ref name=":2" />

After the collapse of the [[USSR]], the new borders broke the supply chains and production fell drastically{{Buzzword inline|date=May 2023}}. An investment proposal came from the Russian [[GAZ]] company, but it was rejected by the Latvian government, which considered Russian capital a threat to Latvian independence.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} Although some Western and East Asian investors also showed their interest in RAF, all of them considered this investment too risky as the local economy was too small to support large production and the Russian market was virtually closed due to the volatile Russian economy and a complicated political relationship between Russia and Latvia. The large factory, largely dependent on parts and materials brought from outside Latvia, required a lot of resources for its maintenance and was described by some investors as the only valuable asset of the factory.<ref name=":0" /> Another blow was the popularity of the Russian [[GAZelle]] van, unveiled in 1994.

In 1997, the last batch of 13-seat [[RAF-22039]]s was released. The last automobile produced by the dying giant was the [[RAF-3311]] — a [[hearse]].

In 1998, RAF went bankrupt. The only part of the company that survived was [[RAF-Avia]], a charter airline set up using the four airplanes owned by the plant. The {{convert|120,000|m²|ft2|abbr=on}} manufacturing site, complete with machinery, is owned by [[Joint stock company|JSC]] Balitva. They considered selling it to a western automaker, but this proved unrealistic. As of 2002, the assembly shop was still in order and all the design documents existed, so production could be started again if there should be a need. [[ErAZ]] expressed interest, but probably only for the designs.<ref name=kommersant>[http://www.kommersant.com/tree.asp?rubric=2&node=22&doc_id=345742  Latvia' RAF] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051211182354/http://www.kommersant.com/tree.asp?rubric=2&node=22&doc_id=345742 |date=2005-12-11 }} article in newspaper [[Kommersant]]</ref>

After the bankruptcy of RAF, factory's buildings and land were purchased by SIA Baltiva for 150 thousand lats (later known as SIA NP Jelgava Business Park). Shortly after, company's shares were transferred to the Nordic Partners group, which was originally financed by the Icelandic businessman Gisli Reyninsson (Icelandic: Reynisson Gisli). On the estates purchased, SIA NP Jelgava Business Park developed an industrial park with a total area of 23 ha. 

=== Legacy ===
Rumors came out in 2018 of RAF being revived as "Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika, RAF" was registered in a Latvian company database. It is believed they will show off their first new model in 2019 and start production in 2020. It was also believed that RAF will now focus on electric powered vehicles like vans and [[trolleybus]]es.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}

Surviving prototypes of the plant are on display at the [[Riga Motor Museum]], as well as production models in other institutions.

== Models ==
* [[RAF-251]] - [[GAZ-51]] based bus (1955–1958)
* [[RAF-8]] - [[Moskvitch 407]] based 8-passenger prototype bus (1957)
* [[RAF-10]] - [[GAZ-M20]] based 9-11-passenger bus (1957–1959)
* [[RAF-982]] - experimental bus
* [[RAF-977]] Latvija - [[GAZ-21]] based 10-passenger van/bus/ambulance/taxi (1959–1976). Also made in D, DM and IM models.
* [[RAF-2203]] Latvija - 4x2 4dr van (1976–1997)
** [[RAF-2203]] Latvija (delivery) - 4x2 4dr delivery van
** [[RAF-2203]] Latvija (cardiology) - 4x2 4dr [[cardiac ambulance]]
** [[RAF-2203]] Latvija (fire) - 4x2 4dr fire minivan
** [[RAF-2203]] Latvija GAI - 4x2 4dr police van
** [[RAF-2203]] Latvija (mail) - 4x2 4dr mail van
** [[RAF-2203]] Latvija (taxi) - 4x2 4dr taxi van
** [[RAF-2203]] Latvija VAI - 4x2 4dr military police van
** [[RAF-22031]] Latvija - 4x2 4dr ambulance
** [[RAF-2907]] - special car for [[1980 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympic in Moscow]]
** [[RAF-2914]] - 4x2 ambulance van
** [[RAF-3311]] Latvija - 4x2 pickup on RAF-2203 chassis 
** [[RAF-33111]] Latvija - 4x2 light truck on RAF-2203 chassis
** RAF Latvija - collector - 4x2 cash collector on RAF-2203 chassis
** RAF Latvija - tourist van, motor home
* [[RAF M1 'Roksana']] Prototype minivan (1991)
* [[RAF M2 'Stils']] Prototype minivan (1994)

== References ==
<references/>

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika}}
* [http://raf.ucoz.lv/ RAF (Photo, info..)]
* http://www.autogallery.org.ru/raf.htm
* http://www.abc.se/~m9805/eastcars/showbrand.php?brand=latvia&lang=en

{{Russian Automotive Makers}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Riga Autobus Factory| ]]
[[Category:Bus manufacturers of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Jelgava]]
[[Category:1955 establishments in Latvia]]
[[Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1955]]