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AvtoVAZ ((ロシア語:АвтоВАЗ)) is the Russian automobile manufacturer formerly known as VAZ: Volzhsky Avtomobilny Zavod (ВАЗ, Во́лжский автомоби́льный заво́д), but better known to the world under the trade name Lada. The company was established in the late 1960s in collaboration with Fiat. The current company name is "AvtoVAZ", which stands for "Avtomobili Volzhskogo Avtomobilnogo Zavoda" ("Cars of Volga Automobile Plant").〔(Report for the II quarter of 2009 ) // lada-auto.ru〕 AvtoVAZ is also the largest company in the Eastern European and Russian automotive industry.〔(«АвтоВАЗ» во II квартале получил 1 млрд руб чистой прибыли ) // RIA Novosti, 13 July 2010〕 It produces nearly one million cars a year, including the Kalina family (hatchback, wagon and crossover), Lada Granta family (sedan and liftback), Lada Priora family (sedan, hatchback, wagon and coupe), Lada 4x4 (former Lada "Niva") and Lada Largus (Renault-Nissan platform). It also produces the vehicles of Renault-Nissan alliance brands: Renault Logan 2, Datsun on-Do (the Nissan sub-brand) and Nissan Almera New. However, the original Fiat 124-based VAZ-2101, and its derivatives, remain the models most associated with its Lada brand. The VAZ factory is one of the biggest in the world, with over of production lines, and is unique in that most of the components for the cars are made in-house. The original Lada was intended as a "people's car" for consumers of the Eastern Bloc - lacking in most luxuries expected in Western-made cars of its era. Ladas were sold as a budget 'no-frills' vehicle in several Western nations during the 1970s and 1980s, including Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, though trade sanctions banned their export to the United States. Sales to Italy were forbidden by the agreement between the Soviet government and Fiat, to protect Fiat from cheap imports in its home market. ==Origins== With the aim of producing more cars, a brand-new integrated plant was decided upon in 1966, with Viktor Polyakov (later minister of ''Minavtoprom'') as director, and Vladimir Solovyev was chief designer.〔Thompson, Andy. ''Cars of the Soviet Union'' (Haynes Publishing, Somerset, UK, 2008), p.104.〕 It was set up as a collaboration between Italy and the Soviet Union and built on the banks of the Volga River in 1966. A new town, Tolyatti, named after the Italian Communist Party leader Palmiro Togliatti, was built around the factory. The Lada was envisaged as a "people's car" like the Citroën 2CV or the VW Type 1. Production was intended to be 220,000 cars a year, beginning in 1971; car production actually began before the plant was finished in 1970.〔Thompson, p.106.〕 The VAZ trademark, at first, was a grey Volga boat on a red pentagonal background, with "Togliatti" superposed in Cyrillic (Тольятти); the first badges, manufactured in Turin, mistakenly had the Cyrillic "Я" rendered "R", instead (ТольRтти), making them collector's items.〔Thompson, pp.107 & 109.〕 The lightweight Italian Fiat 124 was adapted in order to survive treacherous Russian driving conditions. Among many changes, aluminium brake drums were added to the rear, and the original Fiat engine was dropped in favour of a newer design also purchased from Fiat. This new engine had a modern overhead camshaft design, but was never used in Fiat cars. The suspension was raised to clear rough Russian roads and the bodyshell was made from thicker, heavier steel. The first Lada models were equipped with a starting handle in case the battery went flat in Siberian conditions, though this was later dropped. Another feature specifically intended to help out in cold conditions was a manual auxiliary fuel pump. About 22,000 VAZ-2101s were built in 1970, with capacity at the end of 1973 reaching 660,000 a year; 21 December, the one millionth 2101 was built.〔 A third production line was added in October 1974, boosting output to 2,230 cars a day.〔 The same year, total VAZ production reached 1.5 million.〔 Exports to the West began in 1974; under the original agreement with Fiat, the car could not be sold in competition with the 124 until its replacement (the Fiat 131 Mirafiori) had been released and all Fiat production of the 124 had ceased. Engines fitted to the original Ladas start with the 1.2 L carubretted in the original and go up to the 1.7 L export model set up with a General Motors single point fuel injection system. Diesel engines were later fitted for the domestic market only. The drivetrain is a simple rear-wheel drive setup with a live rear axle. The engine is an inline four with two valves per cylinder and a single overhead camshaft. The Fiat-based Ladas feature various headlight, trim and body styles. The original, Fiat style models included VAZ-2101 sedan and VAZ-2102 station wagon. 1972 saw the introduction of a deluxe version of the sedan, VAZ-2103, which was based on Fiat 124 Special 1968 and featured a new 1.5 L engine and twin headlights. In 1974, the original VAZ-2101 was updated with new engines and interiors; VAZ-2102 underwent the same improvements in 1976. The body style with two round headlights was manufactured until 1988; all others remain in production in slightly updated form. The VAZ-2106 introduced in December 1975 was an updated version of VAZ-2103, really which was based on 1972 Fiat 124 Special T, featuring different interiors and new 1.6 L engine. The 2106 is the oldest and the most popular rear-wheel drive AvtoVAZ model; its production ended in 2001 from Tolyatti, but continued at Izhavto (Izhevsk), ending there in December 2005. In 1974, VAZ was given permission to begin producing Wankel engines under licence from NSU.〔Thompson, p.209.〕 Work began in 1976, with a single-rotor Lada appearing in 1978; the first 250 of these went on sale in summer 1980.〔 The VAZ-2105, still based on the 2101 but updated to 1980s styling, was introduced in 1980 and was marketed outside the Soviet Union under the Riva or Laika names, depending on country. Square headlights and new body panels distinguish this style from the old models. A deluxe version, VAZ-2107, was out in 1982; it featured a better engine, refined interiors and a Mercedes-like radiator grille. In 1984, the VAZ-2104 station wagon completed the line-up. In 2002 station wagon 2104 production was transferred to IzhAvto. Production of the 2105 was completed on 30 December 2010, and production of deluxe sedan 2107 was transferred to IzhAvto on March 2011. In the domestic market, these "classic" models were called ''Zhiguli'' (Жигули). The Lada name was used for exports only, but a large share of Ladas was reexported from Eastern Bloc countries, so the brand was well known in the domestic market as well. AvtoVAZ designers proved they had some original ideas when the VAZ-2121 Niva was introduced in 1978. This highly popular car was made with off-road use in mind, featuring a gearbox with a four-wheel-drive selector lever as well as a low- and high- range selector lever. It has an original body style and the most powerful 1.7 L engine in the VAZ range. The Niva has also been available with 1.9 L Peugeot sourced diesel engine. The Niva is still in production. Based on the success of the Niva, the design department prepared a new family of front-wheel drive models by 1984, which was of a completely domestic design. Production started with the VAZ-21083 ''Sputnik'' three-door hatchback; the series was later renamed Samara. The Samara engine was mostly designed and produced in-house, had a new single overhead camshaft (SOHC) design and was driven by a more modern rubber belt. The combustion chambers were developed in collaboration with Porsche. The line-up features a completely new body and interiors, front MacPherson strut independent suspension and rear torsion bar, rack and pinion steering, and an updated five-speed gearbox. The five-door VAZ-21093 hatchback followed in 1987, and the four-door 1.5 L sedan, VAZ-21099, was introduced in 1990. The same year, the front sides and radiator grille were restyled on the whole Samara range. A white 2108 would be VAZ's nine millionth Lada built, on 24 May 1985, with the ten millionth, on 9 October 1986, also a 2108.〔Thompson, p.253.〕 The twelve millionth, a right-hand drive 2109, was produced 6 July 1989.〔Thompson, p.255.〕 The 2108-2109 models were in production until 2001, when they were restyled with new side panels, interiors and 1.5 L fuel injection engines (though fuel injection was available as early as 1995). The Lada 2109 hatchback was rebadged as Lada 2114, and Lada 21099 sedan was rebadged as the Lada 2115. The 2104-21099 model range was transferred to IzhMash and ZAZ and is still being manufactured. In 2004 VAZ also introduced Lada 2113, a restyled version of Lada 2108, but this car has never used much popularity, as the Lada 2108 was only popular for a short time. The VAZ-1111 Oka micro-car, which resembles the Fiat Panda (though relation to it), was introduced in 1988, and in 1991 the production was transferred to the KamAZ and SeAZ factories. The VAZ-2120 Nadezhda minivan is based on the original Niva and has been in low-volume production since 1998. A five-door version of the Niva, the VAZ-2131, has been in production since 1995. The break-up of the USSR delayed the production of new 110-series by a couple of years. The VAZ-2110 sedan was introduced in 1996, the 2111 station wagon followed in 1998 and the 2112 hatchback completed the range in 2001. These models are basically based on Samara mechanicals, with a new body and fuel injected engines as standard features, though carbureted versions have also been available up until 2001. The 110-series remains in production and has been continually updated over the years. For example, engines used to be 1.5 L units with either 8 or 16 valves, but these have now been upgraded to 1.6 L units that meet stricter emissions rules. VAZ in 2008 was the largest automotive plant in Europe, able to build 750,000 cars a year.〔Thompson, p.107.〕 The plant covers , with three assembly lines each long; at peak production, it employed 180,000.〔 And, unlike most Western factories, it is vertically integrated, producing almost every component in the plant itself.〔 In 2013, AVTOVAZ sold 481 thousand cars LADA, sales declined by 19% compared to the year 2012. Revenues declined by 13 billion roubles up to 177 billion roubles. The loss amounted to 7.9 billion rubles. The deterioration of the results of financial and economic activity of the AVTOVAZ group mainly connected with reduction of sales at the Russian car market.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=АВТОВАЗ: финансовые результаты по МСФО - Пресс-релизы - Новости - Официальный сайт LADA )〕 In the first half of 2014, the proceeds from sales of AVTOVAZ amounted to 91.1 billion rubles, net loss - 2,75 billion. For the six months sales of the company amounted to 220 251 LADA, which is 5% less than in the first half of last year The main factors that influenced these results, the steel market collapse and the fall in the ruble.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=АВТОВАЗ: итоги первой половины 2014 года - Пресс-релизы - Новости - Официальный сайт LADA )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「AvtoVAZ」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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