Lada

Lada (Russian: Лада [ˈladə] , marketed as LADA) is a brand of small cars manufactured by AvtoVAZ (originally VAZ), a state-owned company in Russia. From January 2021 until May 2022, Lada was integrated with then-sister brand Dacia into Renault's Lada-Dacia business unit. The first cars manufactured by AvtoVAZ were produced with technical assistance from Fiat and marketed under the Zhiguli designation. The Lada brand appeared in 1973, initially being overseas-focused before becoming AvtoVAZ's main brand for all markets in the 1990s. Renault took control of the brand in 2016. Technical assistance from the French company started in 2008, after it acquired a minority AvtoVAZ stake. Lada was re-acquired by the Russian government in 2022. Outside of the Eastern Bloc, Ladas were aimed squarely at the budget end of the market, where they were often as little as half the price of contemporary Western vehicles of the period. Lada vehicles are positioned as affordable and offering good value for money. To this day, confirmed by many sources, Lada remains by far the best-selling car in the Russian market.