They will produce, but will not sell

VAZ slid into a ditch and cannot get out of it

In May 2025, a law on taxi localization was adopted in Russia. It will come into force in March 2026. According to the document, only vehicles with a high degree of localization are allowed to be purchased for passenger transportation. To determine it, a special point system has been developed. And just in November, at a round table in the Federation Council, the head of AvtoVAZ, Sokolov, proposed making the purchase of domestic cars mandatory not only for government agencies, but also for all state-owned companies. Proposals of this kind are made regularly, and the circle of those who are planning to transfer to products of the domestic automobile industry is only expanding. And all together this fuels interest in the auto giant. After all, a significant part of the localization of taxis will occur due to its products. In the meantime, the largest manufacturer of passenger cars in Russia and Eastern Europe works four days a week. The transition to a four-day period occurred at the end of September.

Not the best years

In order to find out how things are now at AvtoVAZ, we turned to a person working directly on the assembly line. He has been working as a mechanical assembly mechanic for more than 20 years. He shared some thoughts regarding the present and future of his native enterprise on condition of anonymity.

— There is talk about AvtoVAZ switching to a three-day working week. I have not found any official confirmation of this information. I want to ask you, is this true?

- We have a four-day period.

- And in other departments?

— I don’t know about all the units, I don’t have such information. But the entire plant, judging by how many people come to the checkpoint, is on a four-day stay. Most definitely work like this. We have an assembly line, a conveyor belt, everything is going on as usual. As stated by management.

- In his recent interview, the head of AvtoVAZ Sokolov said that in 2026 you will return to a normal schedule - a five-day week.

- Yes. We have already signed a document stating that we are familiar with such information. Since the new year we have been operating as usual.

— So, immediately after the New Year holidays, you go out for a full week?

- Yes. But there are a lot of “well-wishers”, and they chatter whatever they want, about three days too.

— Are salaries paid on time?

— Everything is clear, on time, without delays.

— And in full?

— Look how everything is happening with us now: four days of household work per month are arranged under an additional agreement ( under the new format, employees work four days a week to produce cars, and every fifth day is allocated for household work. — O.P. ). And this comes as a separate payment.

— If you add up the payment for household work and the basic salary, do you come up with the same amount that you received while working as usual?

- Household work - they are fixed. Roughly speaking, during these four days people receive 20 thousand - 19,535 net rubles. Let's say a person has a large salary. If he had been paid these four days, then, of course, his salary would have been higher. Do you understand, right? And for those who have low salaries, it is more profitable for them to do household work, because the fixed amount for them is higher. If you divide it, it comes out to about 5 thousand a day.

— And if you focus on salary, exactly how much do you make per day?

— I can’t say what my daily salary is now, because I often work overtime.

— You are talking about overtime, and the plant director is talking about underutilization of the production line.

- It works differently here. For example, machining or assembly did not perform as planned and people were left behind overtime. But this is no longer a double salary. And pay and time off. And we don’t have such a thing that they advertise part-time work for a week, for example, or for a month. This is such an unpredictable process. Either they didn’t fulfill the plan, or there weren’t enough people - that’s always been the case at the plant. Part-time jobs are announced as needed.

— What is your workload like now, compared to previous years?

— It would be more correct to ask, with what years?

- With the best - in terms of productivity and volumes.

— We once produced 2,500 cars a day, there were such times.

- And now?

— Now, in my opinion, 550 is not a secret.

The production of passenger cars in the country decreased by 9.6% over the 10 months of the outgoing year. Perhaps the main reason for this is high rates on car loans, which seriously undermine demand. In 2024, the concern produced 525.6 thousand cars. This year’s results are more modest - about 325 thousand cars. The head of AvtoVAZ, Sokolov, announced the figures in his television interview. Factory capacity allows us to produce more, but demand does not. It turns out that this is what slows down the production process. The volumes of the outgoing year were 38% less than in 2024. The head of the automaker says that output and production had to be adjusted, focusing on demand and real sales. That is, reduce.

How to pick up something that has fallen

To really increase demand, the interest and wallet of the private consumer is obviously not enough. We need bigger ideas and approaches. One of them should be the localization of taxis. Here, in essence, everything is simple. The suitability of a vehicle for legal work in the transportation sector will now depend on the level of its localization. And the level will be calculated using a point system enshrined in a special government decree. Points are awarded for the use of domestic components and raw materials. In addition, for production and assembly at Russian factories. The more components and operations performed in Russia, the higher the final rating (the digital threshold of which is also indicated).

In October 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Trade published a list of cars that fall under the criteria of the law. Among them, in particular, seven LADA models, two UAZ, four variants of Moskvich. The list, officials promise, will expand.

But are taxi drivers with personal transport ready to purchase “correct” cars to continue working? Far from a fact. Polls say otherwise.

Maybe that’s why there was a relaxation in the fall - the government supported a bill allowing private taxi drivers to use personal cars that do not meet localization requirements. They will be able to be included in regional taxi registries, but only if a number of conditions are met.

By the way, there are few passenger cars with a high degree of localization in Russia. Experts name five companies that produce them: AvtoVAZ, GAZ, UAZ, Haval and Aurus. Cars produced under a special investment contract during a specific period are also considered localized: for example, Moskvich models, sedans and Evolute crossovers from the Lipetsk plant.

Support and change seats

Another idea designed to support the domestic automaker is neither new nor original. And crises in the auto industry have occurred periodically, and they have been trying to transfer government officials to their own cars for more than a decade. Back in 1997, President Yeltsin signed an order that clearly outlined what government officials should ride and what they should not drive.

And now, today, a new proposal on an old topic, this time from the head of AvtoVAZ, who believes that the requirements for the localization of cars when purchasing for state and municipal needs should be extended to all state-owned companies. And how can one not remember how in September last year, during an off-site meeting in Samara, State Duma Chairman Volodin and Acting Governor of the Samara Region Fedorishchev demonstrated the use of a new model of the Russian car LADA Aura. Volodin then advised all deputies to switch to it. It is not known how many people's representatives followed the advice.

And in the summer of 2025, the well-worn question was raised again, although the priorities had changed. At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the current Samara governor Fedorishchev said:

“As soon as the LADA Azimut (this is the model that was presented at SPIEF) goes into production, the government of the Samara region will purchase it. We are gradually selling models from foreign manufacturers that we had and purchasing AvtoVAZ. We plan to completely switch to domestic producers within a few years.”

However, I would like to clarify: “several years” – how long exactly?

Well, for now we live with what we have. More precisely, with what we managed to implement. Sales of LADA passenger cars on the Russian market have decreased by 25.3% since the beginning of the year. In specific figures, a little less than 300 thousand units were purchased. Let's say LADA Vesta sold almost 44% worse than a year ago. Now the Volzhsky Automobile Plant brand occupies just over 25% of the market (data from Autostat).

Maxim Sokolov claims that AvtoVAZ is capable of making up to five LADA Aura cars per hour. In fact, the production line is currently underutilized. The model's localization rate exceeds 90%, but government procurement is still sluggish. The head of the concern told reporters about this as part of Transport Week 2025. Back in February 2024, the deadline for submitting a report on the priority use of highly localized domestic cars as official transport for government employees expired. The head of state gave the corresponding instructions to the government and regional authorities in September 2023. However, the order has not yet been fully implemented. But two countries in the Middle East expressed their readiness to buy our cars. They say that in Iran and Yemen the demand for Russian Niva, Vesta and Granta is twice as high as in their homeland.

Truly localized

AvtoVAZ enterprises will return to a five-day working week at the beginning of 2026. At the same time, the much more pressing question is not “how much the plant can produce,” but “how much it can actually sell.” Be that as it may, in the new year he will complement his line with the Azimut family crossover.

— Have you been told about production plans for next year? - I ask our interlocutor .

- Everything is the same. The volumes have not become smaller.

— Information has appeared that the plant has opened new markets. Unsold cars will be taken to Iran and Yemen, have you probably heard?

— You probably read all this on VKontakte, right?

- No, in other sources. Is the information incorrect?

“But no one shares such information with us.” This is what the sales department does.

— Maybe this kind of information appears in your factory circulation?

- We have a newspaper, yes. But everyone at the plant still reads on the Internet.

— Are people leaving production? I guess a short week doesn't suit everyone.

- Nobody leaves! Those who are looking for something better quit. But it has always been like this. On the contrary, I observed - the foreman brought people to the neighboring brigade, two young boys had recently gotten a job. There is no such thing as a crisis where everyone runs away from the factory, as is written somewhere. This is complete nonsense.

— Why then is the atmosphere around the plant periodically pumped up? What do the employees themselves think?

— But the goals can be different. Maybe someone has targeted this plant. Or someone sees a competitor in the plant - there are a lot of options. But I also wanted to ask you: there is one very suspicious topic. And this, one might say, even outrages me.

I was driving about three weeks ago in the car and heard an advertisement on the radio: “Haval is being sold under the state program.” Here our plant cannot sell its cars, because not everyone is given it under the state program.

— Why are you so offended by this topic?

— Because I bought it under the state program ( allows certain categories, for example, teachers, doctors and SVO participants, to buy certain brands of cars at a discount. — O.P. ). Sokolov also spoke here and complained that the Chinese were dumping. And he said that they could afford it. And right away - on the radio: if you want to buy a Chinese car under the state program, take it. Do you understand what is being done?! Just wondering how they were able to push this topic. Figure it out.

And here, in fact, everything is on the surface. The fact is that Haval has been assembled in Russia for some time now - at a plant in the Tula region. And the city crossover Haval M6 is indeed a participant in the state program of preferential car loans. The benefit when buying a car on credit reaches 20%, and in the Far East - 25%. Health and education workers and large families can participate in it. It is this Chinese company that produces the most highly localized foreign cars in Russia, car market experts say. Haval is even going to be included in the list of cars approved for use as a taxi.

As it turns out, the level of localization matters a lot. If 90% is already ours, and less - how to look at it. One of the State Duma deputies noted that “a lot of cars are bought through government procurement (especially in the regions) that seem to be ours, but are actually Chinese.”

Well, the publication’s interlocutor remained unconvinced. And regarding the promotion of a Chinese car assembled in Russia, he noted: “Good, but not to the detriment of our plant.”

This reaction is understandable. Haval, whatever one may say, remains a Chinese car in the minds of most Russians. Therefore, Ladam is a direct competitor. The head of AvtoVAZ really openly said that the Chinese were stepping on the plant’s heels. And in a recent interview with a federal television channel, he said that due to aggressive dumping on the part of many Chinese brands (whose discounts reached 1 million rubles), the company had to adjust its pricing policy and reduce prices for LADA cars by an average of 5%.

And of course, the recall campaign did not add anything positive to the overall picture. The plant confirmed the recall of 33,450 thousand cars due to a potential defect in one of the cardan elements. The risk in real conditions is unlikely, the official commentary stated. However, a batch of LADA Granta cars sold in June-December has been recalled. Whether the problem is with the supplier of the part itself or with the factory assembly remains to be determined.