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 Avia's shares, making it the majority owner of the company. A year later the company's 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 Avia's 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 Daewoo's 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.
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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.
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 109's 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 Avia's chief pilot Antonin Kraus in control. That same year on 10 December the CS-92 flew for the first time.
The first S-92 was delivered to the Czechoslovak Air Force 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 upgraded aircraft. When Avia was granted a license to make the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (they were originally slated to produce Yakovlev Yak-23, with no result, and the Czechoslovak Air Force S-101's were the original Yaks bought from the USSR) 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.
