AvtoVaz Set for 20% Increase in Production of Cars for Renault, Nissan

AvtoVaz will assemble a total of 160,000 vehicles for Nissan and Renault in 2015, including the Nissan Almera, Sentra, and Tiida, as well as the Renault Logan, Sandero, and Stepway. Nissan and Renault's sales in Russia increased by 7 and 11 percent in 2014, respectively. Since the beginning of the year, the recession, the declining value of the ruble, and an aggressive sales campaign by their Korean competitors have weakened their positions on the Russian market.

Automotive business experts speaking to business newspaper Vedomosti said that AvtoVaz's own brands, projected to decline by 3.7 percent to 425,000 units in 2015, have good prospects for recovery. Their prices have risen more slowly than those of their foreign competitors due to high levels of localization, and state orders of vehicles for official use have helped to support demand for their products, accounting for 36 percent of vehicles sold in 2015.

AvtoVaz's own Lada brand is also expecting to see a small jump in sales later this year, with the release of the Lada Vesta sedan and the Lada Xray crossover, in September and December, respectively.