Lada Iskra To Hit Russian Market In 2025, Featuring Localized Renault-Derived Platform

An all-new model from Russia's Avtovaz will hit store shelves in the first quarter of 2025. Subsequent models will include station wagons and "cross station wagons," or crossovers, with the Lada Iskra serving as a compact four-door sedan based on a localized version of Renault and Dacia underpinnings.

As a result of the effects of the Western world's sanctions on Russia connected to the conflict, the Iskra is Lada's first new model in quite some time. The business claims it will join the already extensive Lada model line, sitting between the significantly bigger Vesta and the slightly older Granta.

With its sculpted fenders and contemporary LEDs, the Iskra takes design cues from the Vesta's "X-Design" language. Lada describes the Iskra as a modern global platform that has undergone re-engineering and achieved technological independence. Electronics have been "completely localized" with the inclusion of 400 new pieces, according to the business.

Interpreting the hints, it appears that the platform is a slightly modified version of the CMF-B design, which many Nissan, Renault, and Dacia cars use. In 2022, the Renault Group severed all connections with Lada. Meanwhile, the Russians used their prior access to research and development to lay the foundation for local manufacturing independent of France.

"In record time, by the standards of the global automotive industry, we actually re-created this car, making it technologically independent," said Maxim Sokolov, president of Avtovaz. According to Sokolov, the project's overall investment was 23 billion rubles, or around $258 million at today's currency rates. He went on to say that the Lada Iskra is now undergoing "production debugging, fine-tuning, and configuration of all vehicle systems" as it nears completion of development.

The new car borrows its engine choices from its siblings. A 1.6-liter gasoline engine with 89 horsepower (66 kW/90 PS) and a five-speed manual transmission will be standard on the entry-level model. Granta is the supplier of the engine. With 105 horsepower (78 kW/106 PS) and either an automated or six-speed manual transmission, the front wheels get power from the more powerful 1.6-liter mill found in the Vesta.

The Togliatti facility will begin production of the Lada Iskra in early 2025. We will disclose the pricing closer to the market's debut.