Latvia carmaker to use Russian branding for China-made electric cars

Dartz Motorz – an automotive company officially registered in Tallinn, Estonia, but with headquarters in Riga, Latvia – has announced its intention to sell electric cars under the brand name “Freze”.

Apparently, the niche carmaker had initially tried to acquire rights for “Russo-Balt”, Russia’s oldest automotive brand that emerged in Tsar-governed country before the Socialist Revolution. However, the attempt was unsuccessful, prompting Dartz to acquire the brand name “Freze” instead.

Piotr Alexandrovich Freze worked together with Yevgeny Alexandrovich Yakovlev to produce the first Freze-branded motor carriage in 1896, but the project never took off financially, ultimately forcing Freze to sell his business to a company named Russo-Balt.

Dartz Motorz represents a constituent part of Dartz Grupa and specializes in production of armored off-roaders, like the Prombron model shown in the gallery here. These cars largely rely on components provided by General Motors. The company’s project list on its website mentions a “Freze EV” without supplying any additional information. An anonymous source reports that this name refers to a China-made electric car, which is currently in its earlier design stages.