GM leads Russia's (foreign) car sales

[hdmax]

I don't care what it looks like, as I will not be driving it. And with that said, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy knowing that GM is leading the way in the USA, Canada, China, and now Russia. (Well, not really leading the way, but ahead of toyota!)

[paul8488]

Hey, if it's the third best-selling car then it can't be all that bad! We can't compare it to the North American or European markets... they're not the same.

[redTT]

Wait... people voluntarily pay money for that??

Thats exactly what the rest of the world said when they saw the old Comaro in America.

[2012Aveo]

GM's future profit and market growth depends on cars like the Lanos being sold in developing markets. It is basic transportation. GM is not forcing it's fans to buy this car. Again, it is good for GM.

[EllwynX]

Why so much hate for the little car? It's not that ugly. It won't win any awards, but it's certainly not one of the ugliest cars I've seen. It looks better than my '05 Aveo. LOL

[powervette]

Lanos always looked horrible inside and out and drove like crap. And I think it deserves bowtie even less than Aveo & Lacetti. But I must tell You I have heard million times that it was very reliable and had better build quality than most of the Fiats. There have been many Lanoses that took part in different kind of rallies and the professional mechanics who took care of them praised them a lot.

[Bravada]

I disageree - the build and materials quality is near 0, the original upholstery wasn't a far cry from oilcloth. That said, they really ARE pretty reliable, it's old GM technology underneath (T-body platform, old GM Family 1 engines) and, due to its relative simplicity, Daewoo managed to build it right. It is also in its 10th year of production at the FSO, so you may bet most of the possible glitches were offset by now.

Don't get me wrong - I wouldn't want one, but people in Russia, only some of who can even afford a new car, have a lot less to spend on those, and they want a reasonable car at a low price. The Lanos is a sensible choice for a small family car with a relatively powerful engine (with the 1.6, it really does well for what it is) - and the domestic competition is that:




Other competitors include the Dacia Logan, Kia Spectra, old Hyundai Accent and the fantastically horrible Chery Amulet. I hope this gives you an idea of how the Russian market works.

[paul8488]

THAT'S their Ford Focus?!? I wondered how Ford could sell so many copies of the Focus, as I assumed it was the Euro version! This makes more sense. How many little wee old cars like this does GM have in production around the world? Will this possibly be replaced at some point with that little Chevy (I forget the name... something like Matrix I think) for South America we saw spy shots of a few months ago? What about this supposed 4000 dollar car... any relation to any of these exisiting low-cost vehicles?

I've decided that when I move back to Canada I'm going to buy a Lanos... I want a red three-door with a 5-speed. I love having low standards... my dreams are easy to attain!

[Bravada]

No, they get a "regular" Ford Focus, made in Sankt Petersburg.


(old photo, they now make the C1 Focus - see here)

The car above is the Lada Kalina, Lada's most recent development and a bestseller of its own in Russia. This, among the other listed, is the car that competes with the Lanos in Russia. There is also a market for "normal" compact cars, such as Focus or Megane. There is high income stratification in Russia, so there are still people who can't dream of owning a car at all, those who drive decades-old Zhigulis, those who buy brand new (!) Zhigulis and the highest number of Bentley customers in any country. Go figure!


(no this is not yet another facelift for the USDM Focus, it's LAda's proud and joy, the Priora, essentially a revamped Lada 2110)

[paul8488]

Oh I don't know why I assumed that was the Focus... I thought it was a Ford badge, but when I look closely I see it clearly isn't. I love simple cars like this... I'd gladly buy a new Lada.

[Bravada]

Would you take a brand new Lada 2107?



Mind you, it's a premium model of the Zhiguli lineup! I remember my grandfather had one, with headlight wipers at all, it seemed the most luxurious vehicle to me back then. Oh, I was four.

[chrisbenz]

Originally Posted by camaro_freak

it was a joke ... and I'm sure YUGOs where indeed sold in Russia as well as other countries

And this above model wans't made in Russia either...

Not that many.Lada where/are bigger in Russia

[paul8488]

Originally Posted by Bravada

Would you take a brand new Lada 2107?

Oh yeah man! I love cars like that! I'd be willing to sign a wavier releasing Lada from all responsibility if I crash without airbags or ABS or a padded dash or any other safety equipment.

When you were four? Wow... we're talking turn of the century there, aren't we?

(20th century, BTW!)

[Bravada]

When you were four? Wow... we're talking turn of the century there, aren't we?

The Zhiguli DOES seem eternal, but nope, it wasn't around in the 1900s. Neither was I.

It was still in the socialist times in Poland obviously, and you can check when they've started making Zhigulis. This can give you some approximation

[editor]

For those of you that are interested, we did a related piece earlier this week about the Russian consumer's affection for big cars - you can read it HERE