At the time the factory was known as Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant, short NAZ (Nizhegorodskiy avtomobilny zavod), full name Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant named after V. M. Molotov (Nizhegorodskiy avtomobilny zavod imeni V. M. Molotova), after the Soviet minister Vyacheslav Molotov.

In 1933, the factory's name changed to Gorkovsky avtomobilny zavod, or GAZ, when the city was renamed after Maxim Gorky.

Called the GAZ-M20 Pobeda (Victory), this affordably-priced sedan with streamlined, fastback styling, entered production in 1946 and was produced by GAZ until 1958.

[10] As the car's leading engineer Boris Dekhtyar recalled, the new version of the Volga had improved brake pads and reached a higher top speed of over 170 km/h; it was well received.

[17] In March 2003 GAZ declared that the production of passenger cars was no longer a priority for the company, and plans to release a new GAZ-3115 model had been abandoned.

[18] In 2006, GAZ made a move on the LDV company based in Birmingham, England, and acquired the van maker from the venture capital group Sun European Partners, LLP in July of that year.

GAZ said that they planned to market the MAXUS (LDV's new Panel-van that was released in January 2005) into the rest of Europe and Asia.

[21] In 2010, GAZ upgraded its model range by launching new GAZelle-BUSINESS lineup with diesel and petrol engines and LPG equipment.

[27] In April 2019, GAZ asked for a $468 million bailout from the Russian government, saying that US sanctions on Oleg Deripaska and his assets put the company at risk of default.

[28] On July 4, 2019, workers from GAZ protested against the US sanctions in front of the US embassy in Moscow as an opposition to measures they claim will lead to the bankruptcy of the company.

[29][30] In November 2021, "GAZ Group" announced that its division, "Silovye Agregaty", would be ready for mass production of hydrogen engines in 2.5 years.