Largus FL
In 2022, AvtoVAZ actively tested Largus Facelift prototypes. At the end of November 2022, the first pre-production copies of Largus FL began rolling off the plant’s assembly line, and already in January 2021, the first production cars.
Lada Largus tried on an X-shaped front part of the body with head optics from Renault Logan-2, an original radiator grille, a new front bumper, a hood and wings of a different shape, new-style exterior mirrors from Lada Vesta, a plastic frill with built-in washer nozzles, a shortened standard antenna on the roof.
The technical characteristics of the Lada Largus FL provide for the installation of two gasoline engines with a displacement of 1.6 and 1.8 liters on the model, and the first one has been significantly modernized. Both are combined exclusively when paired with a five-speed manual transmission.
The price of a station wagon on the official dealer’s website varies from 724,900 to 975,900 rubles. The model is sold in three trim levels: Classic, Comfort and Luxe, which can be supplemented with Start, Multimedia and Prestige packages.
Sales growth
During the analyzed period, Russians purchased almost 170 thousand AvtoVAZ vehicles, which is 21% higher than last year. The most popular is still Vesta, which found 8,991 owners in the first half of 2022.
For many months, being in the top best-selling models, the whole Vesta
(sedans, station wagons, including off-road options) is the main competitor of the Kia Rio. But if the “Korean” has consistently good demand indicators, then Vesta is demonstrating rapid sales growth for 2022.
Following the “relative” comes the absolute bestseller – Granta
, which has held a leading position since 2012 and has no plans to slow down. Over the current year, 7,559 copies have been sold, and fans of the model are already expecting an autumn restyling, which promises to equalize the design of the Granta with the Vesta.
, the X Ray hatchback has again aroused interest.
, sold in the amount of 4309 cars. Car dealers are celebrating unprecedented monthly sales and are eagerly awaiting reactions to the Cross modification.
The Lada Largus station wagon completes the list.
, which sold 4,303 vans and utility vehicles.
Niva FL
No sooner had the Niva SUV returned to the Lada family than mass production of a restyled version of the model called Lada Niva Travel had already started.
Lada Niva Travel received headlights and a radiator grille from the unrealized 2014 Chevrolet Niva-2, an original bumper group, new wheel arch extensions and side moldings, a different shape of the hood and front fenders, and LED lights. The fifth door stamp has not changed. The interior also remained the same. By the way, Niva is now similar to the current generation Toyota RAV4 crossover.
Under the hood of the Niva Travel, also known as the VAZ-2123, there is an 80-horsepower 1.7-liter gasoline engine. The car is equipped with a 5-speed manual gearbox, permanent all-wheel drive, a transfer case with a reduction gear and a center differential lock.
In 2021-2022, the new Niva Travel will be available in the following configurations:
- Classic – from 747,900 rubles;
- Comfort – from 804,900 rubles;
- Luxe Off-Road – from 905,900 rubles.
Electricity for subscribers
Automakers have their own tricks. Hyundai plans to offer the Ioniq 5 electric car by subscription in the middle of the year. This, according to the managing director of Hyundai Motor CIS, Alexey Kalitsev, will save customers from the hassle of reselling the car and replacing batteries. However, it is possible that the new product will still be sold to those interested, but the price will be quite high - 4.5–5.5 million rubles. Hyundai plans to bring its electric car in an expensive configuration and with all-wheel drive.
Photo: Hyundai
Previously, there were rumors that Kia and Hyundai would assemble electric cars at Avtotor facilities, but Kia Marketing Director Dmitry Dankovsky told Izvestia that the issue of Russian assembly of the EV6 model has not yet been resolved.
—The topic is being discussed. This concerns not only the issue of zeroing out duties: there are large and complex calculations,” he added.
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Vesta FL
Lada Vesta celebrated its 5th anniversary in 2022. At the end of 2019, the model went through a mid-term update, receiving a Jatco continuously variable automatic transmission, a 1.6-liter Renault H4Mk engine (113 hp) and much more. In 2021-2022, the updated Vesta model should act as another new product from AvtoVAZ.
The appearance of Lada Vesta FL will become more aggressive. The Sedan will receive new bumpers, a different grille, LED headlights and taillights, a different shape of the hood, front fenders and trunk lid. In this case, the windshield washer nozzles will be moved from the hood to the frill of the car, the head optics will be equipped with a washer, and the front bumper will be equipped with parking sensors.
A high-quality interior is expected. In December 2018, a preliminary version of the Vesta FL interior was declassified on the Internet. In July of this year, AvtoVAZ patented a new steering wheel, which is identical to the steering wheel in the “leaked” images. In December, it became known that a pilot batch of Vesta FL had been assembled on the car.
Currently, the Lada Vesta family includes a sedan, a station wagon, their cross-versions, CNG and Sport modifications. The cheapest Vesta is the sedan version - 676,900 rubles. The most expensive modification is considered to be a four-door with the Sport prefix - 1,125,900 rubles.
“Nobody believes in the market”
A number of fundamental mistakes were made in the Concept for the Development of Electric Transport, and the result of collecting applications for SPIC can be taken as confirmation of this, says Sergei Burgazliev, an independent expert in the Automobiles and Transport industry.
— The practical implementation of the document is of no interest to anyone today: neither major players, nor alliances, nor Haval, nor Chery, nor Geely have shown up. At the same time, the Chinese have enormous experience in the production of electric vehicles. This is an indicator that this, in principle, good document is no longer relevant. Nobody believes in the market and prospects, in the implementation of what the Concept describes on the scale stated. No one is ready to make additional investments,” Burgazliev explained. His opinion was supported by the editor-in-chief of “Behind the wheel” Maxim Kadakov.
Zero sum
Photo: Global Look Press/Longwei
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— The fact that the Concept was approved is already good. But a lot depends on how it will be implemented,” he noted. Kadakov recalled Government Order No. 767-r dated May 13, 2013 “On expanding the use of natural gas as a motor fuel,” which ordered that by 2022, in cities with a population of over a million, 50% of the public transport fleet and road utility vehicles should be converted to natural gas. . For cities with up to 300 thousand inhabitants, this figure was indicated as 30%, and for settlements with a population of up to 100 thousand - 10%.
“There were supposed to be 2 thousand CNG filling stations in Russia, but at the moment less than 600 have appeared. So the gas program, for which an impressive amount was allocated, could not be implemented, so it is not a fact that we will complete the electric program,” says Kadakov. “We are able to do this, but, unfortunately, we don’t see anything other than prototypes yet.
According to the Concept, at the first stage it is planned to launch at least 9.4 thousand charging stations. Moreover, 2.9 thousand of them should be capable of raising the charge of the traction battery to 90% (“fast” charging) in 20 minutes. At the second stage, the number of charging points will increase to at least 72 thousand, of which 28 thousand will be “fast” ones.
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— Having proven experience and success in the electric vehicle segment on the market in China, our company is considering the possibility of launching electric vehicles in Russia. We do not comment on further product policy: time is needed to develop a possible program and make a decision,” the Haval press service explained to Izvestia. “We also believe that the development of charging infrastructure is critical to a good EV ownership experience.”
Granta FL
The car will be built on the Global Access platform (aka the former B0). The AvtoVAZ website together with designers presented how the exterior and interior of the new generation Lada Granta 2022 could turn out.
It can be assumed that the body frame will be taken from the current Renault Logan. Consequently, the new Granta will be larger in size than the current generation. When creating the render, we took into account the proprietary X-style, which AvtoVAZ is now promoting in all its models (a version with and without stampings on the sides is presented). And the idea with the headlights was borrowed from the Lada XCODE concept, which was shown at MIAS 2016.
In February 2022, information appeared that AvtoVAZ would soon begin installing a modernized 8-valve engine with the VAZ-11182 index on the Granta model in the most affordable versions.
The engine line of the Granta model, in addition to the VAZ-11182 engine, also includes two 16-valve naturally aspirated engines with a volume of 1.6 liters: VAZ-21126 and VAZ-21127, the output of which is 98 and 106 hp. respectively. They work with a 4-speed Jatco automatic transmission or a 5-speed manual transmission, respectively.
Thousands of electric vehicles on paper
At the end of the summer of 2022, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree approving the Concept for the development of production and use of electric road transport for the period until 2030. The set of measures, according to the document, will be implemented in two stages: from 2022 to 2024 and from 2025 to 2030.
Zero sum
Photo: RIA Novosti/Ekaterina Chesnokova
In the first four years, production of at least 25 thousand electric vehicles will be launched. In the next five years, it is planned to reach the level of production of electric vehicles with a volume of at least 10% of total production. In order to stimulate the localization of electric vehicles in Russia, the zero duty on their import has been abolished since 2022. Now imported cars are subject to a 15 percent duty.
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New items 2022-2025
By 2025, AvtoVAZ will add four more new models to its lineup:
- In 2023, two B-class models will appear.
- In 2024, a new Niva (B-class) will appear. The SUV will receive two versions - with a compact and extended wheelbase.
- In 2025, one C-SUV model (C-class crossover) will appear.
- All future LADA models will be built on the modular CMF-B platform (the new Logan and Sandero are built on it).
- In 2023 (unofficial information) – the New Granta sedan and station wagon, or New Granta and New Vesta, will appear.
- In 2025 (unofficial information) – an analogue of the future compact crossover Dacia Bigster will appear.
Dacia-Lada
The general director of the new structure, Denis Le-Vot, spoke about the creation of an independent business unit Dacia-Lada at the presentation of the Renaulution plan. He promised that the brands would remain separate companies with their own histories and strategies, but would benefit from more focused and coordinated management.
The Lada and Dacia product lines will be based on a single, highly cost-competitive and flexible CMF-B platform. Together, the brands plan to produce more than 1 million vehicles annually on the same CMF-B base. To do this, they will switch from four platforms to one and reduce the number of body types from 18 to 11. The global goal of such a division is to unlock the potential of Lada and Dacia and make them full-fledged international brands.
Prospects for AvtoVAZ
The company's management is in no hurry to rejoice at current achievements. AvtoVAZ seriously intends to achieve and maintain a decent level of localization in the domestic automotive industry: reduce costs, expand the model range, work on the quality of the product and service, and expand the dealer and service networks.
But there are still many difficulties ahead, and we will have to fight them constantly.
These are also currency risks, since the new models have weaker localization compared to other Lada cars. And the weakening of the Russian ruble, which will affect the growth of costs for the purchase of imported components, which, in turn, will inevitably lead to higher prices for cars.
AvtoVAZ met the second half of the year with a new president, who became the CEO of Renault and Automobile Dacia. Yves Karakatzanis does not overestimate the financial achievements of the plant he has received at his disposal. Too many potential risks could affect the Russian car market and, accordingly, the forecast for AvtoVAZ's profitability. He expects net profit no earlier than 2022, if the company manages to maintain its course towards achieving a positive operating margin.
Video about what AvtoVAZ surprises us with this year:
in Lada VAZ, New cars 03/19/2018 31,
Needless to say, the latest press releases and information leaks from insiders of the Tolyatti plant paint truly Napoleonic plans. Some people are happy about this - they say that at last the Russian auto industry has begun to demonstrate ambition, which must necessarily affect the image of the local market as such.
Others grin skeptically - this brand has already become a tradition of releasing such “news” with a greater or lesser degree of intensity. But are they implemented in practice? And if so, what is the end result?
