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Renault has canned plans for a modern Lada hatchback based on the Concept C show car as it concentrates on improving the troubled firm’s current range.

A senior Renault source told Autocar that its plans for Lada parent Avtovaz had changed since it bought a 25 per cent stake in the firm, and that the first priority was to significantly improve the quality of the Kalina small car.

“We’re going to use a similar technique to the way VW managed Skoda,” said the source. “First we want ...Read the full article

Am I missing something here ? Renault teaching another manufacturer about quality and reliability !

Past Renaults I have owned have been anything but reliable. Maybe they are better now that Nissan has some input then ?

I must admit I didnt even know Lada still existed . Thought it was killed off by Euro crash and emissions regs. Now theres a thing Renault does have expertise in.... crash protection.

I really don't understand why Renault is bothering with Lada. They have Dacia for their cheap brand, so why not just use the factory in Russia to make the Sandero? Although I take their point about the workers having to learn how to make a good car first, then they can introduce the quality. Ford did the same at Halewood before the X-type was built there. The final Escorts were the best ever made apparently.

Good luck Renault!!  I'd love to see how they are intending to break a culture of laziness, thieving and incompetence built up over 30 years and covering a factory the size of a town!   Believe me, it's not they don't know HOW to do the job properly, they just can't be bothered and the management are in on every scam going also.

My wife spent 2 years working as a translator at Lada before we met and she's told me stories of corruption that's so inbedded at the Togliatti plant and the town itself that it wouldn't surprise me if Renault end up running as far from there as possible!   

One little story that amused me however was about the "development department" that were working hard, diligently on a new, upgraded part for the Samara model.
Many months of work later, they revealed the finished product, ready to be fitted to the car.  What was it?   A new mudflap with a revised Lada logo!  There's Lada style development for you!  As I said at the start, good luck Renault!