Lada Priora has earned the respect of Europeans for its low price and good quality. Lada Priora has earned the respect of Europeans for its low price and good quality. Related Materials
Going to Lada West in Paris: what do the French say?
Again, I am writing to an electronic dealer in France. Again I ask if the deliveries of cars from Russia have begun - and again I get a negative answer. Daniel does not wait until he can call and please his customers, who for some reason continue to believe in Lada and want to buy a Russian car. According to Daniel, the Lada Priora left a very good impression on the French - this is the last of the models that he received from the importer. The car did not break down, it was very unpretentious, reliable and inexpensive.
“I understand that there isn’t enough for all the new Vesta and XRAY, but for a year and a half we have not received a single Lada,” Daniel laments.
I do not know what to answer him. At AvtoVAZ there is a desire to increase exports, but in life something is happening wrong. Maybe this applies only to France, which did not want to give Russia the Mistral? I do not exclude it, because in neighboring Germany, the situation with Russian cars is somewhat better.
There are some statistical confirmations on this score. In particular, interest in the Russian brand is noted by the German government organization Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, which is also involved in the registration of vehicles. So, in the first quarter of 2016, the number of new Ladas that received German numbers increased by 18%. True, I’ll immediately make a reservation that in absolute terms the growth does not look so impressive: in the first quarter, 355 cars were sold compared to 300 for the same period last year.
Lada 4x4 Urban is perceived in Western Europe as the same slightly updated Niva. Lada 4x4 Urban is perceived in Western Europe as the same slightly updated Niva.
An unchanging leader is the Lada 4x4 (269 cars), which, by the old habit, is called the Niva - it added 3 percent. Grants sales more than doubled to 86 units, compared to 37 last year. The third of the models officially delivered to Germany - Kalina did not get into the statistical summary.
Last year, 1, 181 Lada were sold in Germany. And if the trend of the first quarter continues, then by the end of 2016 the result may exceed the 1, 500th mark. New models Vesta and XRAY, obviously, will be able to attract new customers Lada, only the question of their appearance in the German and European markets has not yet been resolved.
Lada XRAY for the European consumer must have a version with a diesel engine. VAZ cannot make such a proposal. Lada XRAY for the European consumer must have a version with a diesel engine. VAZ cannot make such a proposal.
Officially at VAZ, they confirmed to me that they authorized sales in three Western European countries: Germany, Hungary and Slovakia. But what about Poland, Romania, Bulgaria - those countries of the former socialist camp where historically many of our Ladas have been supplied? But what about Spain, France, where so far, especially in the countryside, no no no and you will meet Niva on the road? To this in Togliatti has not yet been answered.
An interesting episode occurred when I contacted representatives of the French Lada through the website www.lada.fr to find out what is happening with the brand in France, why, despite the requests from dealers, they are not supplied with cars? The director of marketing and sales of Lada France SAS, Mr. Lucien Lacroix, wrote to me literally the following (I quote): “Our company does not have the authority to communicate directly with the press - contact the AvtoVAZ press service,” in which, as I said earlier, I and made it clear that in France, Lada is not currently being traded.
However, this could be guessed from the materials published on the site, which I managed to read. It spoke about the history of the company, about the supply of spare parts, but not a word - about the finished cars, about the models offered on the market. Meanwhile, Lada France SAS is the official importer of Lada to France and Belgium.
An interesting detail: after my appeal, the page of the site lada.fr disappeared from the Internet. I think this is just a coincidence: in its place an announcement appeared on the reconstruction of the resource. Which, we note, has been going on for the fourth month.
Lada Vesta is the most attractive model for a European client. It is a pity there are no versions with a hatchback or station wagon. Lada Vesta is the most attractive model for a European client. It is a pity there are no versions with a hatchback or station wagon.
By coincidence, the disappearance of the French Lada website coincided with the arrival of AvtoVAZ new leadership in the person of President Nicolas Mora, former director of the Dacia enterprise in Romania, and the resignation of Bu Andersson, who now blamed on all the sins and failures of the company. But this situation with the prospects for sales in Europe does not clarify.
It would seem that if our own Russian market falls, then we need to develop activity where our cars still want to buy. Alas, there is not much activity in this direction. I don’t remember how many years ago the last time I saw the Lada at exhibitions in Geneva, Frankfurt or Paris. She does not participate in international exhibitions either independently or under the wing of senior partners in the Renault-Nissan alliance, to which she nailed.
The seditious thought creeps in - does this partnership interfere with export to European countries? VAZ models are direct competitors in both technology and price to Logan and Sandero, who bear the Dacia brand in Europe. So why risk the sales that have already unfolded and turned out well?
You can try to justify VAZ’s indecisiveness with forgotten trading skills and the lack of a developed dealer network, which has actually collapsed (for example, in Hungary, after a five-year absence of Lada, nine dealers were found on the market who were ready to trade products from Togliatti).
Lada Granta Sedan - the cheapest of the Lada, offered in the Western European markets. In Hungary, a car costs 2 million forints. Lada Granta Sedan - the cheapest of the Lada, offered in the Western European markets. In Hungary, a car costs 2 million forints.
But then another question arises: why don't the alliance partners offer the services of their concessionaires? After all, this would be quite natural, and this happened when Renault, after buying Dacia, began to develop sales of Logans. Apparently, in the alliance there is no consensus on this score.