AvtoVAZ Phases Out Lada Samara Sedan Production

VIENNA – AvtoVAZ, Russia’s largest auto maker, has ended production of the Lada Samara sedan, with the last of the line rolling out of its Togliatti plant in late December.

The auto maker is hoping to shift buyers who would have purchased a Samara sedan, also known as the Lada 2115, toward the Lada Granta sedan.

AvtoVAZ plans to continue production of Samara 3-door hatchback (2113) and 5-door hatchback (2114) until the end of 2013 in conjunction with the production start of the Granta hatchback at the auto maker’s Izhevsk plant in 2014.

The company manufactured 84,858 Samaras in the first 11 months of 2012, including 23,183 sedans, 55,778 5-door hatchbacks and 5,897 3-door models.

The Samara, developed during Soviet era, was AvtoVAZ’s first front-wheel-drive model.

Production of the first-generation Samara 3-door hatchback, called the 2108, was launched in December 1984. The 5-door 2109 was added in 1987 and the 21099 sedan in 1990.

The second-generation Samara sedan was launched in 1997. The 5- and 3-door hatchbacks followed in 2001 and 2004, respectively.