MOSCOW, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Russian automaker Avtovaz said on Monday it will raise prices for the majority of its Lada model cars by three percent from September 1.
"Changes in the company's pricing policy are due to macroeconomic factors and the competitive market environment," the automaker said in a statement, adding that the Lada Priora sedan will remain priced at 435,000 roubles ($6,484).
Avtovaz, Russia's biggest carmaker, has increased prices three times already this year as the country's once prospering car market has collapsed, hit by an economic downturn fuelled by Western sanctions over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis and lower oil prices.
($1 = 67.0840 roubles) (Reporting by Jack Stubbs; Editing by Vladimir Soldatkin)