Instead of Vesta, AVTOVAZ will produce a new model – the first details

The board of directors of AvtoVAZ decided to transfer the production of Lada Vesta cars to the main site in Tolyatti – to the B0 line with a capacity of up to 60 vehicles per hour.

The restart of Vesta production is scheduled for early spring 2023.

Maxim Sokolov explained the transfer of production by the fact that the shareholders have established tasks for AVTOVAZ based on the forecast for the development of the structure of the Russian car market in 2023. It is assumed that the capacity of the Lada-Izhevsk plant ( up to 32 vehicles per hour) will not be sufficient to meet the potential demand for Vesta.

This week the factory finished assembling the last Lada Vesta NG cars – today was the last day of production. And it was today that the last Vesta NG rolled off the assembly line – the red SW Cross station wagon.

Then the plant actually goes back into the dormant position, in which it has been since April.

What will happen to the Lada-Izhevsk plant?

First of all, some of the components for Vesta are produced here. Stamping production, plastic production and some other components will be retained, service and support functions will be retained.

Secondly, the production of the electric station wagon Lada e-Largus will be organized in Izhevsk, the presentation of which took place here today – at the Lada-Izhevsk plant. This is not a production car – so far only a prototype. And not even a full-fledged car, but an electrified platform.

This is not a hybrid, but a 100% electric car. The charging connector of the European standard CSS is located under the standard hatch on the starboard side. The batteries are located at the feet of the rear passengers, in the central tunnel and under the hood. The car is powered by one electric motor with a simple gearbox and its own cooling system (there is no gearbox, as with all modern electric vehicles).

The intention is to produce both a passenger version of the electric Largus (for 5 and 7 seats) and a freight version. The power reserve on one charge varies depending on the version: from 250 to 350-400 km. The drive is on the front wheels.

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All the other advantages of Largus are preserved: high load capacity, ground clearance, capacity – after all, all body panels have remained unchanged, which, by the way, will greatly simplify the introduction into production. The pendant is the same. The only major innovation: an electric booster (from Xray Cross) instead of the previous hydraulic one.

The exact date the e-Largus will go into production has not been determined. The first industrial batch is expected to be assembled next year.

Difficult decision

The car factory team reacted negatively to the transfer of Vesta production. On the last working day of July, the trade union organization of the Izhevsk Automobile Plant even sent an open letter to the president of the country, stating that the decision of AVTOVAZ to move the assembly of Lada Vesta cars from Izhevsk to Tolyatti three thousand employees of the factory out of work.

One can understand the workers of the car factory in Izhevsk purely emotionally: losing a job at the moment is more difficult and even worse than before. But the letter was signed by a thousand employees of the Izhevsk Automobile Plant, and the leadership of AVTOVAZ is faced with the task of retaining the entire staff of the company, which includes about 42 thousand people.

If the capacity of the main plant in Togliatti is sufficient to cover the demand of the Russian and foreign markets for Lada cars, including Vesta, it makes no sense to produce cars in two plants – it is cheaper to produce in one focus location. In addition, engines and gearboxes are produced in Tolyatti, and then transported 600 km to Izhevsk, and this is a very expensive logistics.

Every company strives to improve production efficiency and reduce production costs, and AVTOVAZ is no exception.

Reducing workers in Izhevsk is less painful than in Togliatti.

It is easier to find a job in Izhevsk. Trustees are assigned to the company in the Republican Labor Office and temporary work is organized for more than 1,500 employees. 130 people have already been transferred to other companies in the republic.

If desired, employees can receive additional training free of charge. So in September 61 people will start training and retraining. Some employees of the car factory have already resigned and got a job at the Kalashnikov group.

In total, there are 19 thousand vacancies in Udmurtia, of which about 10 thousand are in a profile that fits the current employees of the factory. Most vacancies are with defense companies.

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All these decisions were announced at the meeting of AVTOVAZ president Maxim Sokolov with the head of Udmurtia Alexander Brechalov. It was held on August 4, 2022 on the territory of the Lada-Izhevsk enterprise.