The company was founded by Pavel Beneš, Miroslav Hajn, Jaroslav František Koch and Václav Malý in 1919 and became part of Škoda in 1928. During the 1930s the factory became the biggest aircraft producer in Czechoslovakia and moved to Letňany. The company was split in 1992 into propeller and truck sections, both using the Avia brand. As a conclusion, the French Renault-Saviem manufacturer’s offer for two types of trucks was accepted. However, the 1995 public tender was won by a consortium formed by the South Korean DAEWOO company and Austrian STEYR company. The consortium bought 50.2% of AVIA's shares, thus becoming the majority owner of the Company. The year after, the trade name of the Company 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 2007, a leading commercial vehicle manufacturer from India, Ashok Leyland, took over AVIA. The company has since been renamed Avia Ashok Leyland Motors (AALM).
