The Ford Union was not a manufacturer, it was only an assembler of SKD kits. The vehicles assembled by the Belarusian plant can be identified by the manufacturer code Y4F on the start on the VIN and an R on the eleventh position for the plant identification. The plant become well-known on 23 July 1997 as president Aljaksandr Ryhorawitsch Lukaschenka was invited to a press conference with five strategically selected foreign journalists to discuss a predicted failure which later proved true.