The Renault Group suspended its industrial activities in Russia on 23 March (earlier post). Regarding its stake in AVTOVAZ, Renault Group said that it is assessing the available options, taking into account the current environment, while acting responsibly towards its 45,000 employees in Russia.

AVTOVAZ Group is part of the Dacia-LADA business unit with the Group Renault structure. AVTOVAZ manufactures cars for two brands: LADA and Renault. The LADA products are in the B, B+, SUV and LCV segments and comprise five model families: Vesta, XRAY, Largus, Granta and Niva. The LADA brand leads on the Russian automotive market with more than 20% market share and is also present in 20 countries.

AVTOVAZ has now issued a statement in response to the Renault action:

… the management of the AVTOVAZ Group is closely monitoring the situation and is in constant contact with federal and regional authorities, as well as with the Company’s shareholders. Over the past weeks, all possible measures have been taken to ensure the preservation of the jobs of our 40,800 employees. In particular, we decided to pull ahead this Summer corporate vacation to 4-24 April 2022, and we will do our best to use this period to restore our supply chains.

In addition, active work is underway to substitute some critical imported components with alternative solutions. The company is also preparing special versions of some LADA models with reduced exposure to imported components. These will be available to our customers in the coming months, progressively.

AVTOVAZ Group is aimed to fulfill its obligations towards its employees, suppliers, dealers and partners throughout the Russian Federation and export markets.

On 22 February—two days before Russia invaded Ukraine—the first serial LADA Vesta of the New Generation rolled off the assembly line of the LADA Izhevsk automobile plant.