It became known what cars AvtoVAZ will produce in St. Petersburg

In May of this year, the former Nissan plant will begin to assemble the FAW Bestune T77 mid-size crossover, the Telegram channel “All About Spare Parts… and More” reports, citing its insider at the enterprise. Earlier, many publications wrote that the Chinese state-owned automaker FAW (First Automotive Works) was one of the first to show interest in a plant near St. Petersburg, which became the property of AvtoVAZ, but so far the Russian auto giant has not officially announced which Chinese partner or partners will supply everything you need to assemble cars.

It was assumed that AvtoVAZ, like Moskvich, would put Lada emblems on Chinese models, but recently it became known that the head of the enterprise, Maxim Sokolov, does not exclude that a new joint brand will be created to produce these models.

According to an insider at the plant, closer to the fall, the former Nissan will produce three different Chinese models (full production cycle, not just SKD). The insider also said that none of the employees are fired or reduced. “Apart from the founder, nothing much has changed at the enterprise at all.”

As for the Bestune T77 crossover, it is already familiar to our customers, because official FAW dealers have been selling it since the end of 2021. In terms of size, this model can be compared with the Volkswagen Tiguan and Mazda CX-5.

Now Russian dealers are asking for a front-wheel drive version with a 1.5 turbo engine and mechanics from 2,069,000 rubles, a modification with an automatic machine costs from 2,173,000 rubles. There is no all wheel drive. Last fall, a specially stuffed version was added to the Russian range of trim levels for 3,332,000 rubles.

In general, the FAW company has recently become more active in the Russian market: in the second quarter of 2023, the production of the FAW Bestune NAT electric compact van in the Saratov region should start. As in the case of the new Moskvich, here a Russian emblem will be hung on the Chinese model. They called the new domestic brand Alfarus.