Volga Automobile Plant

The history of the Volga Automobile Plant dates from 1966, when the governing bodies of the USSR decided to build an entirely new car plant and town in what was then the Kuibyshev region, near the Zhiguli mountains. The new town was named Togliatti in honour of Palmiro Togliatti, former general secretary of the Italian Communist Party. The plant was designed for an initial capacity of 670,000 vehicles a year. A technical cooperation agreement was signed with the Italian carmaker Fiat, and the new plant's first main model was the Fiat 124, European "Car of the Year" that same year.

Construction of the plant began in January 1967, while work went on at the same time to adapt the Fiat 124 to Soviet conditions. The Italian model's pushrod engine was replaced with a new overhead-camshaft version, also bought from Fiat (which never reached actual Fiats), and the Fiat 124's rear disc brakes were replaced with drums. Under the new Soviet car numbering system the vehicle was designated VAZ-2101 "Zhiguli" (after the nearby Zhiguli mountains); in 1969 the magazine "За Рулём" held a competition to find a name suitable for export markets, and the winner was "Lada".

The first construction phase of the plant was completed at the end of 1969 and the beginning of 1970. The first six VAZ-2101s were assembled largely from Italian parts on 19 April 1970, the day before the 100th anniversary of V. I. Lenin's birth. Serious production began that autumn, and by the end of the first year just over 20,000 vehicles had been built.

A year later the 2102 estate went into production, and in 1972 the first VAZ-2103 luxury models with a considerably changed appearance were built; with the 2103 came a 1.45-litre development of the original 1.2-litre engine. The same year the half-millionth series car bearing the VAZ badge was built.

The millionth VAZ (a 2103) was built in December 1973, and in the same month the whole plant was accepted into operation (rated "good").

In 1974 another model went into production: the 21011, a lightly facelifted version of the VAZ-2101 with a new 1.3-litre engine. That year the plant also reached its originally planned design capacity.

The VAZ-2106, a development of the VAZ-2103, went into production with a 1.6-litre petrol engine in spring 1976, and the same year the first trial batch of VAZ-2121 "Niva" off-roaders was completed.

In 1977 series production began of the "Niva", the plant's first fully in-house design. The three-door off-roader with permanent four-wheel drive and the VAZ-2106 engine is considered the forefather of today's SUVs; in the 1980s it was among the best-selling off-roaders in many European countries.

In 1979 the five-millionth VAZ was built, and that year the most serious modification yet of the classic Ladas went into production: the 2105. With the new model came a modernised 1.3-litre petrol engine, the first in Soviet car making to use a toothed camshaft belt. In 1982 the 2105 was followed by its luxury version, the VAZ-2107.

In 1983–84 production of the 2101, 21011 and 2103 ended completely. In 1984 VAZ's range grew by two new models: the 2104 estate version of the 2105, and the 2108 "Samara", the USSR's first mass-produced front-wheel-drive car.

In 1986 the ten-millionth VAZ (a 2108) was built, and that year the last model derived directly from Fiat, the 2102, was dropped. A year later the Samara family was joined by the five-door 2109, and in 1990 by the 21099 saloon, at first in small-series production. The plant also designed the VAZ-1111 "Oka" city car with a two-cylinder engine and put it into small-series production (together with the KamAZ truck plant).

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the plant was reorganised into a joint-stock company. A plan to renew the entire model range was launched, but in the new economic conditions it proved difficult to implement. Production of the planned new model generation (2110 saloon, 2111 estate and 2112 hatchback) was delayed for years. The "Niva", in production almost unchanged for over 15 years, also badly needed updating. In the end, for the "Niva" they settled for a five-door version in small-series production and the 21213 base model with a modernised rear and a new 1.7-litre petrol engine. A new-bodied off-roader, the 2123, was also designed, but its production was delayed too.

The new front-wheel-drive generation went into trial series production with the 2110 in 1995, but series cars only started coming off the line in significant numbers around 1998. The 2111 and 2112 were added later still. Alongside them, production continued of the 21063, 2104, 2105 and 2107 and the whole range of Samaras and Nivas.

In 2001 a joint venture with General Motors, GM-AvtoVAZ, was formed, which took over production of the new Niva (model 2123) under the Chevrolet brand.

In the early years of the 21st century the plant ended production of the 21063, 2104 and 2108–21099. The Samaras were facelifted and given new designations 2113, 2114 and 2115; production of the rear-wheel-drive models moved, in the form of assembly kits, to plants in Izhevsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kremenchuk and Lutsk (the last three in Ukraine). Assembly of classic Nivas and/or rear-wheel-drive models also began in Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan), Montevideo (Uruguay) and Egypt.

In 2004 the small Lada Kalina went into production as a new model generation; it is currently available as a saloon (1118) and a hatchback (1119). Production also continues of the 110 series, the modernised Samaras (2113–2115), the classic Niva in both 3- and 5-door versions, and the 21053 and 2107. Together with the Canadian automotive supplier Magna, there are plans to build a new plant in Togliatti in the coming years and to develop a whole new generation of mid-size cars.

In total almost 25 million cars have been built in Togliatti over 37 years, and AvtoVAZ remains the clear leader of the Russian car market.