At the beginning of summer, the Russian manufacturer launched the assembly of the X-Cross 5 all-terrain vehicle at the facilities of the ex-Nissan plant in St. Petersburg. However, the future prospects of the model are vague, according to experts interviewed by Gazeta.Ru: the Chinese FAW, whose crossover is at the heart of the new Lada, may refuse to cooperate with AvtoVAZ due to its being subject to American sanctions.
AvtoVAZ began negotiating production with Chinese concerns, not yet being under sanctions, recalls the author of the Telegram channel “Russian Automobile” Sergei Tsyganov. Now the situation is different, and sanctions pressure may affect plans. FAW is one of the largest concerns with a wide sales geography. The Southeast Asian market, where the US has a strong position, is more important to him than the Russian market.
“The chances that Lada X-Cross 5 will enter the Russian market are less than 50 percent,” Tsyganov said. Independent automotive industry consultant Sergei Burgazliev believes that crossovers will still go on sale, but how they will be serviced is unclear.
At the same time, against the backdrop of the imminent launch of X-Cross 5, FAW is actively advertising its Bestune T77 crossover – aka the new Lada with different nameplates. It performs well in the market: from January to September 2023, 2,784 of these cars were sold in Russia, accounting for 40 percent of all passenger car sales of the Chinese brand.
In addition to FAW, AvtoVAZ negotiated cooperation with Dongfeng and JAC. The first was going to help the Russian company develop a new Lada model, the second was going to share engines and CVTs.
Keep it simple: “anti-crisis” cars for Russia
