Motor vehicle production in the U.S. and USSR 1970-1988

In select years in the 1970s and 1980s, the number of motor vehicles produced in the United States greatly outnumbered the number produced in the Soviet Union. In 1970, there were almost 20 passenger cars produced in the U.S. for every one produced in the USSR, while trucks and buses were produced at a ratio of three to one. Soviet production did increase over the following two decades, but even in 1985, U.S. production was still over six times higher for cars, and almost four times higher for trucks and buses.

Car manufacturing in the Soviet Union

Prior to the 1960s, the automobile industry in the Soviet Union was fairly limited and the Soviet government prioritized the manufacturing of larger vehicles as they believed that it would be of greater benefit to society and the economy (this is reflected in data for 1970). However the demand for individual cars saw automobile production increase throughout the 1970s and 1980s, when output began to exceed one million units per year. The most common car in the Soviet Union was the Lada, which was even exported to Western Europe, although other popular brands included GAZ, Moskvitch, and the more luxurious Volga. The import of western car brands was generally prohibited in later decades, although the Soviet automobile industry never came close satisfying the public demand, which created a series of obstacles and challenges when trying to buy a car in the USSR.

Obtaining a car in the USSR

In these decades, the Soviet government used a queue system for the distribution of automobiles. By the 1960s, citizens could only get a car by applying through their place of work, and distribution was sporadic and required background checks. Exceptions were made for party officials and union leaders, while nepotism and bribery were rife (although waiting lists in these cases could still take years). A popular joke in the west that waiting lists for cars in the Soviet Union were ten years long, and this was actually true in some cases; average waiting times were roughly four years in the 1960s, and six or seven years in the 1970s and 1980s. The demand for cars was so high that values actually rose over time, and there is anecdotal evidence of people selling 10 year old cars for double the original price, but it was very rare that people would part with their car. Additionally, daily usage was rare for most people, and Soviet infrastructure was at a much lower stage of development than the west; there were significantly fewer gas stations and safe parking places, parts could be difficult or costly to obtain, and theft was rampant. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, there was an influx of foreign cars into post-Soviet markets, and the transition to market economies meant that private companies could increase production to meet the demand, however, the financial crises of the 1990s did hinder the automotive industry's development in post-Soviet states.