Russia Looks to Revive Soviet-Era Automotive Brands

ST. PETERSBURG – Russia looks to revive a second Soviet-era automobile brand in an attempt to jumpstart its stagnating domestic automotive sector.

Following the recent launch of the Moskvich, a licensed copy of Chinese automaker JAC’s JS4 model, industry officials are planning to bring back the Volga premium sedan produced from 1956 to 2010 by Russian automaker GAZ.

These plans have been confirmed by Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, the state official responsible for the development of the country’s automotive industry.

Initial plans call for GAZ Group to produce the new-generation Volga, but the automaker has been unable to find a partner with which to develop the car. Teaming with a foreign manufacturer may be the only way to ensure the project’s long-term viability.

Nevertheless, the new Volga is to be introduced this summer and likely will be priced at a minimum of RR2.5 million ($28,000). The car will be marketed to state officials, who are required to drive Russian cars as of this year.

Russian analysts say the Volga project will not attract any Western partners because of sanctions related to the war in Ukraine. But they also say developing the car with Chinese automakers will undercut its desired image as a premium sedan (in contrast with the budget Moskvich [pictured, below]).

Moskvich 6

GAZ has worked previously with a foreign automaker: the Chrysler unit of the former DaimlerChrysler Automobiles, now a brand within Stellantis.

GAZ signed an agreement with Chrysler in 2006 to purchase the assets and equipment of the U.S. automaker’s Sterling Heights (MI) Assembly Plant and obtained a license to build cars based on the Chrysler Sebring platform. GAZ intended to build up to 160,000 units annually of what was called the Volga Siber. Production began in 2008 – at the outset of the global economic crisis – and was suspended in 2010 after only 9,000 units were built. 

In addition to the Volga, plans for the launch of a new automobile brand this year have been announced by Russia’s flagship automaker AvtoVAZ. The project calls for the production of licensed C- and D-segment cars. It is unclear whether these cars will be based on a Russian automotive platform recently announced by the Central Scientific Research Automobile and Automotive Engines Institute (NAMI). That platform is designed for affordable, mass-produced C-, D- and E-segment cars.