PJSC AutoKrAZ is a Ukrainian manufacturer of trucks that can fully provide import substitution with modern, efficient and reliable equipment designed for various sectors of the economy. Lobbying the interests of foreign manufacturers and the absence of protectionism measures against used trucks led to the stagnation of company, whose well-being provides the well-being for three thousand of employees and thousands of workers in related industries.

By own efforts, not paying attention to economic difficulties, without waiting for government assistance, AutoKrAZ has been working for many years to create the latest models of automotive equipment, taking into account the needs of the market in various segments: utility, road, construction, agricultural and others.

The creation of the latest samples takes place at the factory from the initial stage — design engineering, to the release of a finished vehicle with proper professional testing.

Only in recent years, the factory’s specialists have made a number of the latest technical developments.

In 2014, AutoKrAZ PJSC continued the development of a promising line of vehicles of cab-over-engine design.

In 2014 AutoKrAZ developed and manufactured new universal KrAZ-5401H2 chassis with a 4?2 wheel arrangement. The chassis is designed taking into account its maximum unification and adaptation to various power trains and special add-ons.

Expanding the model range with new promising vehicles, AutoKrAZ PJSC is able to meet the domestic market’s needs for mobile, medium and heavy special vehicles of domestic production. The company won a number of tenders for the supply of utility and other equipment.

A new, promising generation of Kremenchug trucks, designed specifically for the needs of the country’s utilities. The cab-over-engine line of new KrAZ trucks is very maneuverable, which is important in the urban cycle, while being efficient and powerful, like its serial bonneted counterparts.

Developing a future-oriented line of vehicles with the “cab-over-engine” layout, AutoKrAZ has created a new KrAZ-5401C2 dump truck with 4?2 wheel arrangment, which is an ideal solution for urban conditions.

The brand new original KrAZ-5401C2 dump truck can be equipped with a crane mounted behind the cabin.

On the basis of new generation of cab-over-engine trucks, AutoKrAZ jointly with its partners developed a number of applications, including garbage trucks, vacuum cleaners, combined road cars, special vehicles with sludge and canal washing equipment, and others.

One of these developments is a specialized universal garbage truck based on the KrAZ-5401H2 two-axle chassis of the Euro-5 ecological class.

A universal special vehicle may have a dual purpose. During the year, it is used as a garbage truck, and in winter, a snow removal blade is additionally mounted on it to clear roads from snow.

Another development for public utilities is a multifunctional special vehicle with a suction pump based on the lightweight chassis KrAZ-5401H2. Model performs several functions: mechanized collection, transportation and unloading of liquid waste that does not contain combustible, aggressive and explosive materials and can be used by municipal services to clear roads from snow in the winter — it is possible to install a snow blade.

Another new product from KrAZ, which was manufactured in 2015, is a KrAZ-5401K2 rear loading garbage truck. The special machine maintains cleanness and order in Bukovina region.

Especially for road services, several universal innovations have been developed, namely: the universal KrAZ-5401K2 road truck with a full set of sand-spraying and water-washing equipment; a special vehicle for road maintenance on the basis of the KrAZ-5401C2 dump truck, which is also equipped with the appropriate installations, and a combined road vehicle with replaceable sludge, sandblasting, snow removal equipment and a brush based on the KrAZ-5401H2 chassis.

The main advantage of these machines is that they can be used throughout the year, as the equipment is easily mounted and dismantled. So, in winter, trucks can be used to clean roads from snow and sprinkle with inert materials or anti-icing reagents. In summer, the KrAZ-5401K2 and KrAZ-5401H2 with sludge pumping equipment can be used for watering roads, brushing, and the KrAZ-5401C2 can be used as a regular dump truck for transporting various cargoes.

The skip-loader garbage truck was created in 2017 on the basis of the KrAZ-5401H2 chassis. The truck is equipped with a high-performance gas engine M906LAG of ecological class Euro-5, has high reliability, efficiency, maneuverability, as well as ergonomics of the driver’s workplace. The installation of in-line gas engine manufactured by a well-known German manufacturer — Daimler, with a low level of emission (Euro-5), makes the special product highly economical, with a safe and smokeless exhaust for the environment.

In 2018, AutoKrAZ PJSC handed over to the customer another multifunctional special vehicle based on the two-axle KrAZ — channel jet-washing KO-503 based on the KrAZ-5401H2.

For the needs of the transport industry, a KrAZ-5401H2 universal chassis designed an isothermal van / refrigerator with a volume of 33,13 cub. meters, which supports the temperature mode from minus 20 to plus 20°C.

For agriculture, the following models were created: the new KrAZ-5401C2 grain dump truck with a platform of its own production and a dry feed loader on the KrAZ-5401H2 chassis.

The KrAZ-5401С2-500 grain dump truck is included in the list of agricultural machinery and equipment, the cost of which is partially compensated by the state budget. AutoKrAZ expects that through participation in this program the company’s products will become more affordable to Ukrainian consumers. This, in turn, will help to load the factory and increase its contributions to budgets of different levels.

For the mining industry, new special vehicles were manufactured on the KrAZ-5401H2 chassis, exclusive and unique in Ukraine in their parameters: the MZ-5401 clogging machine and the UMM-5K mobile washing unit.

MZ-5401 is designed for transporting driving material to charged wells and mechanized tapping of vertical and deviated wells in open cast mining, filling trenches. UMM-5K high pressure water heater is designed to remove contaminants of any complexity, including oil, fuel, from mining equipment operated in dusty and contaminated facilities. Trucks were delivered to the Poltava Mining Plant.

In 2019, unique wagon vehicles based on the KrAZ-5401H2 — ASV-72.1 were also delivered to Poltava. Trucks are intended for transportation of shift teams of the enterprise to the place of work. Machines are equipped with an air conditioning system, autonomous interior heating — Webasto, remote communication with the driver’s cab, a protective net is installed on the windows of the van body with the possibility of its quick dismantling. Designed capacity is 26 seats.

AutoKrAZ has a deliberate intention to replace foreign competitors in the segment of small- and medium-tonnage equipment in the domestic market. This topic in R&D works of the factory is one of the most costly and, at the same time, priority one.

Following the KrAZ-5401 medium-tonnage chassis (4?2), which is as much as possible unified with various power trains and special add-ons, the KrAZ-4501H2 chassis of 4?2 wheel arrangement has been developed and manufactured. This truck, like all new similar equipment, is designed and manufactured in accordance with the R&D plan for 2017. The KrAZ-4501H2 chassis has payload capacity up to 5 tons.

Work was also carried out to expand the possibilities of application the KrAZ-5401H2 chassis. The reduced wheel base and decreased carrying capacity allowed the use of the chassis for other types of equipment. One of these special products was the new side-loading garbage truck, which was manufactured by AutoKrAZ in cooperation with the Kremenchug-based company PO “Auto-Holding”.

The special machine is intended for the collection of municipal solid waste into the body of a garbage truck, their compaction, transportation and mechanized unloading in places of disposal.

On the basis of the KrAZ-6511H4 three-axle chassis, many new applications have also been developed.

Combined salt-spreading and snow-removing equipment is installed on the KrAZ-6511C4 dump truck with a wheel arrangement of 6?4, which is equipped with a comfortable cabin.

A new garbage truck based on the KrAZ-6511H4 chassis with replaceable containers of its own production was manufactured by AutoKrAZ PJSC in accordance with the customer’s request. The special vehicle carries out mechanized loading, transportation and unloading of solid waste, bulky construction and household waste, as well as transportation of swap bodies for various functional purposes. The special equipment includes a multi-lift hook-type system with a hydraulic crane. Swap body — a tipper metal container with a open tailgate.

Combined KrAZ based on the KrAZ-6511H4 chassis is equipped with replaceable sludge, sandblasting, snow removal equipment and brush.

The KS-65719 automobile crane with a carrying capacity of 40 tons appeared in the line of similar KrAZ special equipment in 2019 based on the KrAZ-6511H4 chassis.

KrAZ-6511H2 is a new original 6?2 wheel chassis, which expanded the product range of the Kremenchug Automobile Plant.

Vehicle with a carrying capacity of 18 tons is designed for the installation of industrial installations and technological equipment. This chassis differs from its predecessors by the presence of a rear third lifting axle, which will reduce fuel consumption and rubber wear when the truck is not loaded. The third axle lowers after loading the truck, and the truck works, like its three-axle counterparts.

KrAZ professionals created another novelty. A four-axle dump truck in the KrAZ-7133C4 cab-over-engine version of an 8?4 wheel arrangement appeared in the model range of KrAZ vehicles. This dump truck is the most powerful among all its serial counterparts. The main purpose of the KrAZ-7133C4 dump truck is operation in road and industrial construction and in the development of mineral deposits. In terms of basic parameters, the new four-axle dump truck is not inferior to its foreign counterparts, while its price is lower and the service is more affordable.

The most powerful KS-65719 truck crane in Ukraine with a maximum lifting capacity of 40 tons was first installed in July 2019 on the KrAZ-7133HE chassis, which optimally serves for the installation of a crane superstructure, which includes a four-section boom 34 meters long. The driver’s cab is comfortable, with circular glazing, providing visibility of the work area for any length of the boom and angle of inclination. Crane operation control system — standard, with safety devices.

Another new model which in KrAZ product line is the KrAZ-6510TE (6?6) all-wheel drive tractor truck. Powerful, maneuverable and prospective truck with an automatic transmission, it has a powerful power train, a comfortable driver’s spot, which are necessary to perform any tasks of delivering the heavy and oversized cargo. Technical requirements for the new product were prescribed by the customer. The main differences from the other KrAZ tractors are cab-over-engine composition with a sleeping berth, engine with a capacity of 460 hp with automatic gear box.

Today company can cover the needs of any economy sectors that require appropriate equipment.

The practice of protecting the companies who develops and manufactures new products for the domestic market with the goal of import substitution, increasing exports and restoring domestic production is well-known in every country. Active protectionism of the country’s national producers is characteristic of developed and fast-growing countries. In particular, in 2018, the G20 introduced 1271 new protectionism acts and 327 measures aimed at trade liberalization.

The main instruments in developed countries are financial support for the manufacturer through subsidies, state support in foreign markets, preferential export loans and financial grants.

The tools to support the Ukrainian manufacturer in the sector of new production can be:

• government support in research and development works;
• support for the automotive industry by involving a domestic manufacturer in the implementation of plans for national programs (road construction, infrastructure development, etc.)
• creating favorable conditions for attracting investments;
• state assistance in accessing to the world markets through diplomatic missions, trade missions (promotion tool).

The purpose of Ukraine should be the functioning of its own latest production facilities. And this can be done not by reducing competition and increasing import barriers, but by creating conditions so that it is profitable for domestic companies to produce in our country. That is, to establish acceptable taxation for manufacturers, to minimize investment risks and create a favorable business environment.

In order to develop the national automotive industry, it is necessary to consider the issue of financial support for enterprises that are independently engaged in the development of new products, which will contribute to increasing the competitiveness of domestic equipment in world sales markets (for example, partially compensating these costs to enterprises).

Then we will have: increasing the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers, Ukrainian vehicles at an affordable price, substantial revenues to the state treasury, new work places and decent wages, and as a result, an increase in the welfare of Ukrainians.