GM-AvtoVAZ was a Russian joint venture between

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

and

AvtoVAZ AvtoVAZ ( rus, АвтоВАЗ, p=ɐftoˈvas) is a Russian automobile manufacturing company owned by the state. It was formerly named as VAZ ( rus, ВАЗ), an acronym for Volga Automotive Plant in Russian (russian: Во́лжский автомо� ...

set up in 2001. In 2002, it started producing the

Chevrolet Niva The Lada Niva Travel is a compact crossover utility vehicle (CUV) produced since 1998 by the AvtoVAZ Group. Originally called the VAZ-2123 (1998–2002), the SUV was marketed as the Chevrolet Niva from 2003 to 2020, when AvtoVAZ (the parent comp ...

, based on the

Lada Niva The Lada Niva Legend, formerly called the Lada Niva, VAZ-2121, VAZ-2131, and Lada 4×4 (russian: link=no, ВАЗ-2121, ВАЗ-2131, Лада Нива), is a series of four-wheel drive, small (hatchback), and compact (wagon and pickup) off-road c ...

, at its

Tolyatti Tolyatti ( rus, Толья́тти, p=tɐlʲˈjætʲ(ː)ɪ), also known as Togliatti, formerly known as Stavropol (1737–1964), is a city in Samara Oblast, Russia. It is the largest city in Russia which does not serve as the administrative center ...

plant. Though both companies had an equal share of ownership, the venture was managed exclusively by General Motors. The venture ended in December 2019, after it was wholly acquired by AvtoVAZ.

History

In 2004 the joint venture briefly produced the

Chevrolet Viva The Opel Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) developed and produced by the German automaker Opel since 1991, currently at its sixth generation. It was first launched in September 1991 as a direct replacement to the Opel Kadett. ...

, based on the 1998

Opel Astra The Opel Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) developed and produced by the German automaker Opel since 1991, currently at its sixth generation. It was first launched in September 1991 as a direct replacement to the Opel Kadett. ...

saloon, but after low sales of only 5,000 the model was dropped. The joint venture reached difficulties and production stoppages for a fortnight in February 2006 when AvtoVAZ was taken over by

Rosoboronexport JSC Rosoboronexport (russian: AO Рособоронэкспорт, ''Rosoboroneksport'') is the sole state intermediary agency for Russia's exports/imports of defense-related and dual use products, technologies and services. The Rosoboronexport ...

, the Russian state-owned arms-export agency, and a disagreement between the new owners and GM lead to stoppages of the supply of engines and other components. In September 2012, the joint venture announced plans to expand by 2015, hiring an additional 1,400 employees and increasing its annual production capacity from 100,000 to 120,000 vehicles.

Ownership

The joint venture was created with investment from General Motors ($99.1m, 41.61%), AvtoVAZ ($99.1m, 41.61%) and the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially fo ...

($40m, 16,78%, plus a loan facility for $100 million). In September 2012 GM and Avtovaz purchased EBRD's share, turning the joint venture into a 50/50 relationship. In December 2019, AvtoVAZ acquired General Motors' stake in the venture, ending it. The Chevrolet branding would still be used by AvtoVAZ on the Niva models until August 2020, before replacing it by Lada.

Products

As of December 2014, the joint venture produced 571,852 vehicles since production at Tolyatti commenced in 2002. *

(1998—2019) *

(2004—2005)

References

External links

Official website
(English) {{Automotive industry in Russia Car manufacturers of Russia Motor vehicle assembly plants in Russia Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2001 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2019 Joint ventures General Motors joint ventures Companies based in Samara Oblast AvtoVAZ Buildings and structures in Samara Oblast Articles containing video clips