New Lada Niva likely axed following Renault sell-off

Does the departure of Lada from the Groupe Renault stable mean it is ‘do svidaniya’ for the promised new Niva?

The everlasting Lada Niva turned 45 years old earlier this month (it first launched on April 4, 1977), and while the original Lada 2121 is still being built, it was expected to have a finite lifespan with Renault noting a ‘new’ replacement Niva among its ‘Renaulution’ forward product planning in January 2021.

Yesterday’s news that Groupe Renault could be preparing to offload AutoVAZ Lada to the state-managed NAMI Russian Science Institute is likely to end this plan.

Renault invested in Lada’s Togliatti factory in Russia as part of its ownership stake and sought to modernise the Lada production lines to use shared Renault-Nissan platforms for future development.

Lada Niva: There’s a new one!

The proposed 2024 Niva was reported to be based on the same CMF-B platform as the new Nissan Juke, giving the Russian brand a far more modern, if not quite as rugged, pathway for the Niva nameplate to continue into a new generation.

But now without Renault’s involvement, this is unlikely to happen.

It’s not the first time that plans for a ‘new’ Niva have been derailed due to a failed joint-venture with the Russian brand.

In 2014, General Motors presented a concept of a 2016 ‘Chevy’ Niva that was prepared by the GM Design Studio in Melbourne. However, this was delayed and the US relationship started to deteriorate when Renault began its investment in 2017.

By 2020, AutoVAZ had re-secured the stake originally taken by GM in 1998, and the Chevy Niva became the current Lada Niva Travel.

And while the long-wheelbase five-door Niva has already ended production, the original three-door 1977 Lada Niva 2121 has survived throughout, and with this most recent news, could be set to live even longer as Lada pushes on without Western ownership or financial support.

Renault has the option of re-purchasing its stake in AutoVAZ within five to six years (no doubt for a little more than the one ruble, or $AU0.02 sale price), so there is an outside chance the new Niva may see the light of day. But with Russia showing little sign of halting its military aggression toward Ukraine, we would imagine that Renault will use this sale as a way of further distancing itself from Russia.

The only upside here is that the iconic original Niva may finally reach its 50th anniversary…

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