| SOK Group | |
| Type: | Closed joint-stock company |
| Industry: | Diversified |
| Predecessors: | --> |
| Successors: | --> |
| Founded: | 1994 |
| Founders: | --> |
| Defunct: | 2011 |
| Hq Location City: | Samara |
| Hq Location Country: | Russia |
| Areas Served: | --> |
| Owners: | --> |
| Website: | www.sok.ru |
The SOK Group (Russian: Группа «СОК») was a Russian holding company established in 1994 and based in Samara, Russia.[1] Yuri Kachmazov was the group's president.[2]
The name SOK was originally an acronym for 'Samara Window Company'.[3]
The SOK Group started in 1994 as an AvtoVAZ dealership, growing to become one of the main automotive companies in Russia.[4] SOK managed to gain control of RosLada, an automotive plant that had been established in 1998 on the grounds of the former Luch Design Bureau in Syzran,[5] and used it to produce old AvtoVAZ models.
In 1999 the ownership of the Izhmash-Avto plant in Izhevsk, which produced old AvtoVAZ models under the Izh brand, was transferred to the group.[6] SOK also included over 40 other factories, mostly in the automotive component business, and employed over 100,000 workers.
Revenues grew from $19 million in 1999 to close to $200 million in 2002.[4] It was the second largest passenger car producer in Russia after AvtoVAZ, with production totaling 121,172 cars in 2002.[7] In August 2003 VAZInterService became part of the group.[8]
By 2004 the group had $2 billion in revenues and supplied 37%-50% of all AvtoVAZ accessories; AvtoVAZ could not withdraw from such cooperation agreements without paying SOK $492 million in penalties. In October 2005 SOK reportedly owned over 60% of AvtoVAZ shares, and ousted Vladimir Kadannikov, the company's chairman.[9]
SOK group attempted to gain control of AvtoVAZ, which was instead gained by the state-owned Rostec corporation. The Rostec-appointed AvtoVAZ management began to phase out or rescind supply contracts between SOK and AvtoVAZ.[10]
In 2008, SOK began negotiations to sell the IzhAvto plant to AvtoVAZ.[11] In 2009 the group was forced to sell its automotive components holdings to AvtoVAZ, after SOK had disrupted the schedule of deliveries to the company.[12] The components business ultimately came under control of Rostec as the United Automotive Technologies group.[10] In 2010 the president of the group, wanted over allegations of fraudulent conveyance during the IzhAvto bankruptcy of 2009, escaped to the United Arab Emirates.[11] The group's last assets were sold in January 2013.[13]
Car models produced by the group:[14]