Brief history of AvtoVAZ company
Lada is a brand of cars that are produced by the Russian automotive company JSC AvtoVAZ. This brand appeared in 1973, three years after the opening of the plant in Togliatti. At first, cars were sold under the Zhiguli brand, but when exported to other countries, it was difficult for foreigners to pronounce this word, and it also looked like the word «gigolo». The name «Lada» comes from the Slavic sailing and rowing vessel called «rook», which is drawn in the company's logo. Today, Lada cars are positioned as affordable and offer good value for money.
The AvtoVAZ company was founded in 1966 in cooperation with the Ministry of the Automobile Industry of the USSR and the Italian automobile company Fiat. The plant is located on the left bank of the Volga River in the city of Togliatti, which was founded to serve the AvtoVAZ company. The city was named after the leader of the Italian Communist Party, Palmiro Togliatti. The first car «VAZ-2101» rolled off the assembly line in April 1970 and was produced about 22 thousand cars. In 1973, the plant's capacity reached 660,000 vehicles per year.
In 2004, a new generation car «Lada Kalina» was released, which replaced a series of cars with the name «Samara-2». For this car, AvtoVAZ for the first time applied computer technology in its design. In 2007 to replace «VAZ-2110» new car arrived «Lada Priora».
In March 2008, the French automaker «Renault» acquired a 25% stake in «AvtoVAZ» for $1 billion. US dollars, and the remaining 75% remained with the state corporation «Rostec». At the time, the automotive market was booming. At the end of 2008, the global economic crisis set in, bringing «AvtoVAZ» to the brink of bankruptcy in April 2009. The Russian government allocated $600 million to help the enterprise. In 2010, thanks to the government's car scrappage scheme, sales doubled and «AvtoVAZ» became a lucrative business.
The subcompact car «Lada Granta», developed in collaboration with Renault, began production in December 2011 and in 2018 completely replaced the «Lada Kalina». The budget commercial van or passenger station wagon «Lada Largus» was launched in July 2012. AvtoVAZ's first crossover, «Lada XRAY», was launched in 2015. Its design was developed by Steve Mattin, formerly of Volvo and «Mercedes-Benz».
In 2012, the «Renault-Nissan» alliance increased its stake in «AvtoVAZ» to 51.01% by creating a joint venture with «Russian Technologies» - «Alliance Rostec Auto BV». Since September 2015, the production of «Lada Vesta» has begun based on the new B\C platform developed by «AvtoVAZ» in cooperation with «Renault-Nissan». The release was launched at the «Lada Izhevsk» production site. This car completely replaced «Lada Priora» in 2018.
In October 2016, «Renault» invested $1.33 billion in AvtoVAZ, this time without «Nissan», which made «AvtoVAZ» a subsidiary of the French group. In December 2018, «Renault» and «Rostec» completed the acquisition of all «AvtoVAZ» shares through their joint venture, «Alliance Rostec».
Repair of Russian cars Lada
The «AvtoVAZ» company has been producing cars for almost 50 years and during this time has accumulated vast experience in this area. During this time, a lot of negative and conflicting reviews have accumulated about the quality of cars, and such nicknames as «basin», «bucket of bolts», «brick», «tin can», «chisel», «rattle», «pregnant antelope» and others negative epithets reflecting build quality and appearance. In recent years, quality and design have improved thanks to the collaboration with «Renault» and the influx of new technologies from there. Despite the shortcomings, the lower price allows «AvtoVAZ» to compete with foreign companies.
In addition, affordable prices for spare parts and their availability right now in almost any car shop or car service (without waiting for delivery from another city) makes car repair and operation cheap and with minimal downtime. Cars «Lada» will undertake to repair in almost any service or in the garage of a private auto repairman. If you decide to do maintenance and repair your «Lada» yourself, then it will cost you even less. You can find step-by-step instructions for repairing modern «Lada» cars on our website. You can find manuals for older (classic) and no longer produced «VAZ» cars at this site.