AvtoVAZ Launches Production of Facelifted Lada Kalina

VIENNA – Volume production of a restyled version of the Lada Kalina small car is under way at the AvtoVAZ plant in Togliatti, Russia.

While the modernized Kalina is in fact a redesign, the auto maker describes it as a second generation.

AvtoVAZ unveiled the first Kalina in 1999, but volume production started only in 2004. The restyled version premiered at the Moscow auto show in August 2012.

Plans call for the output of 70,000 units of the facelifted Kalina this year. Russian sales of the new model start in June, with the base hatchback priced at RR342,000 ($10,900).

AvtoVAZ offers the Kalina as a hatchback and wagon. A Kalina sedan once was available, but it has been replaced in the auto maker’s portfolio by the Granta sedan, which shares a platform with the current Kalina.

The car is powered by one of three 1.6L 4-cyl. gasoline engines making 87, 98 or 106 hp. It is available with a 4-speed automatic transmission sourced from JATCO. The Kalina is the second Lada model equipped with an automatic gearbox after the Granta.

In addition to visual changes, the restyled Kalina offers improved safety. For example, all models now are equipped with a driver’s airbag, which in the past was available only in high-end versions of the model.

AvtoVAZ partners Renault and Nissan participated in the modernization of the car.

Some parts sourced from traditional Russian-owned suppliers are replaced by components from global manufacturers. “We have changed suppliers which were not able to assure the appropriate level of quality,” Oleg Grunenkov, director of the Lada Granta and Kalina project at AvtoVAZ, tells the Volzhskaya Komuna local newspaper.

“In particular, window regulators used to be manufactured by a domestic company earlier. Now we (have) switched to products of Brose,” Grunenkov is quoted as saying. “Regarding the known problems with generators, we switched to generators manufactured by Bosch.”

The Kalina hatchback is 153 ins. (389 cm) long and 67 ins. (170 cm) wide; the sedan is 7.5 ins. (19 cm) longer than the hatchback.

According to AvtoVAZ’s business plan, the new Kalina may be manufactured until 2020.

“Our first step is to launch the second-generation Kalina with new parts, new options, like an automatic transmission, and better quality at an affordable price,” AvtoVAZ President Igor Komarov tells viewers of the auto maker’s own VAZ TV when asked about the plan to produce the Kalina until 2020.

“The second step, after careful examination of customer feedback and market trends, will be to determine when we should launch the next generation of this model. It may happen before 2020, but it is too early to talk about it.”