Private company

Lada Zapad Tolyatti

Logo: An archived copy of the former official website ( http://gm-avtovaz.ru/en/ ), Non-free logo, via Wikipedia3

Russian car company, a joint-venture between General Motors and AvtoVAZ

GM-AvtoVAZ was a Russian joint venture between General Motors and AvtoVAZ set up in 2001. In 2002, it started producing the Chevrolet Niva, based on the Lada Niva, at its Tolyatti plant.2 From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 18, 2026.

Overview

2001Founded1
  • Industryautomotive industry1
  • HeadquartersTolyatti1
  • Legal formclosed joint-stock company1

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GM-AVTOVAZ
Photo: BiMeRtY, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons5

GM-AvtoVAZ was a Russian joint venture between General Motors and AvtoVAZ set up in 2001. In 2002, it started producing the Chevrolet Niva, based on the Lada Niva, at its Tolyatti plant. Though both companies had an equal share of ownership, the venture was managed exclusively by General Motors. The venture ended in December 2019, after it was wholly acquired by AvtoVAZ.2

The story

In 2004 the joint venture briefly produced the Chevrolet Viva, based on the 1998 Opel Astra saloon, but after low sales of only 5,000 the model was dropped.

The joint venture reached difficulties and production stoppages for a fortnight in February 2006 when AvtoVAZ was taken over by Rosoboronexport, the Russian state-owned arms-export agency, and a disagreement between the new owners and GM lead to stoppages of the supply of engines and other components.

In September 2012, the joint venture announced plans to expand by 2015, hiring an additional 1,400 employees and increasing its annual production capacity from 100,000 to 120,000 vehicles.

From Wikipedia’s article on GM-AvtoVAZ, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

  • Lada Niva

Listed on Wikidata.1

As of December 2014, the joint venture produced 571,852 vehicles since production at Tolyatti commenced in 2002.

Chevrolet Niva (1998—2019)

Chevrolet Viva (2004—2005)

From Wikipedia’s article on GM-AvtoVAZ, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Dec 2019Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 2001Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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