Lada end Samara production after 30 years

Production of Russia's no-nonsense Lada Samara, the boxy front-wheel-drive hatchback introduced in 1984, has finally come to a halt.

Production of Russia's no-nonsense Lada Samara, the boxy front-wheel-drive hatchback introduced in 1984, has finally come to a halt, Russia's leading news blog Gazeta.ru reports.

A total of 5,427,000 of the rugged car named after a tributary of the Volga river left the assembly line-up until the end of December last year.

During its last year, the Samara, which was produced at the Renault-owned Avtovaz plant in Togliatti, found just 60,000 customers in Russia and the former Soviet republics.

Dealer stocks are said to be enough to satisfy demand until the end of this year. The Samara is being replaced by the Lada Granta.

The Samara was a basic vehicle devoid of modern safety features such as airbags or an electronic stability control (ESP). It was produced in three, four and five-door designs. A Mark 2 version appeared in 1997. The booted variant was taken from the market in December 2012.

Power came from a series of small, in-line, four-cylinder engines developed with the help of German premium maker Porsche.

The Samara was sold across Europe and from Australia to Canada, but in most export markets it was regarded as a low-tech, budget form of transport unable to compete on equal terms with cosmopolitan vehicles.

Avtovaz continues the global update of its model range and gradually phasing out all of the old models, writes Gazeta.ru.

-AAP