Russian Economy: Why did Lada's sales collapse by more than 30% compared to 2024?

In March, the Russian car manufacturer AvtoVAZ, which has been manufacturing Lada since the 1970s, sold only 25,700 new cars in Russia, 35.6% less than the previous year. AvtoVAZ's director, Maxim Sokolov, estimates that this decline should continue in April with at best 30,000 units sold — compared with 45,000 in the same period last year.1 While the Russian manufacturer, which accounts for one third of sales in the domestic market, is one of t…