The war between Russia and Ukraine claims another victim in the automotive world. In the first days of March, the historic Russian brand Lada in fact, he was forced to repeatedly suspend production activities at the Izhevsk and Togliatti plants. And, as the armed conflict in Ukraine continues, things could even get worse.
Among the symbols of the Soviet Union and capable of surviving even the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Lada could now experience its “darkest hours”Precisely because of the attack ordered by Putin against neighboring Ukraine. Unlike what happened in the second half of the twentieth century, in fact, the Russian manufacturer is increasingly dependent on the import of components from abroad and the growing restrictions on trade with Western countries are affecting its production capacity.
So, after the price increases of gasoline and dieselmotorists (Russian in this case) are preparing to pay an even higher bill due to the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Lada stops production in Russia for 3 days: what do we know
According to information released by AvtoVAZ spokespersons, the Togliatti (where, in the 1970s, the first Fiat production plant in Soviet territory was built in the 1970s) and Izhevsk were forced to suspend production on the 3rd, 9, 10 and 11 March due to the lack of components. As noted by the Wall Street Journal, which first broke the news of the production block in Russia, Lada imports 20% of the components used to make its cars from abroad.
In particular, the parent company AvtoVAZ imports mechanical parts and electronic components (the famous microchips, have now become increasingly rare commodities) developed in Romania by Renault and Dacia. Sanctions by Western countries following the Russian attack on Ukraine have now cut off these supply channels, first slowing down Lada’s production and subsequently forcing the Russian brand to shut down two of its largest plants for a few days.
According to AvtoVAZ spokespersons, the tens of thousands of employees employees in Togliatti and Izhevsk (35,000 workers are employed in the factory that once housed the Fiat production lines alone) will either receive a reduced salary or be put on leave. The situation that is emerging is not optimal even for the Renault group. The French, in fact, were first forced to close the plant near Moscow at the end of February and now they risk losing one of the most important foreign markets. Russia, in fact, is the second largest market area after Europe and the protracted war hostilities could lead to significant economic losses.
Why Lada could be forced to stop production “indefinitely”
The three-day production stop, experts point out, could only be an “appetizer” of a much longer lasting block. And potentially lethal for Lada. Should there not be a relaxation of the sanctions in the coming weeks – and everything suggests that this will not happen – the historic Russian car manufacturer could be forced not only to suspend production, but even to close the plants for days, if not weeks.
This could force AvtoVAZ to review their production plans and activate processes that allow it to become increasingly independent from foreign suppliers. As it is easy to guess, this is not an immediate operation. According to a spokesman for the Russian manufacturer, in fact, it could take months, if not years, before Lada is able to return to the “self-sufficiency” of Soviet memory and thus do without the components that arrive from the Romanian factories of Renault and Dacia. Meanwhile, the production of new vehicles would (to put it mildly) very slow.
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