AVTOVAZ returned to the project of an extended version of Lada Vesta, addressed to budgetary organizations and officials at the regional level. The novelty was named Aura, it was presented at the Eurasia is Our Home exhibition in Sochi.
The first version of the elongated Vesta was called Signature, it was presented in the fall of 2015 and was planned to be produced on order in small batches, but things did not go beyond a few prototypes. In the light of the great changes that have taken place over the past year in the Russian automotive market, from which many European and Japanese brands have left, AVTOVAZ decided to return to a forgotten project.
The elongated Vesta received a restyled body and a leather-covered interior, but the rear sofa is now, in fact, a standard three-seater, while the Signature version had two seats in the second row, separated by a massive pedestal organizer. Under the hood is a VAZ 1.8-liter gasoline engine with 122 hp, docked with an automatic transmission, the type and origin of which have not yet been officially disclosed (unofficial sources claim that this is a Chinese CVT).
AvtoVAZ President Maxim Sokolov does not hide the fact that the new name for the extended version was chosen with an eye on the Russian luxury brand Aurus, which makes cars for the highest representatives of the Russian authorities. “We have just presented a car, the novelty of this forum is the Lada Vesta Aura car, an extended version that can be used for our state order, for officials. Aurus even has a small answer, – Aura – Aurus – in tune “,” Sokolov is quoted by the TASS news agency.
In turn, RIA Novosti reports that the Lada Vesta Aura will cost about 2 million rubles, while the standard Vesta in an updated body costs from 1.24 million rubles.
The scope of the Aura can be much wider than government fleets. In April, Vladimir Putin instructed the government to “consider the development and application of requirements for the localization of the production of cars used in the provision of services for the transportation of passengers by passenger taxis and car sharing services, taking into account the possible volumes of their production by the Russian automotive industry and, if necessary, ensure that appropriate changes are made to the legislation of the Russian Federation”. That is, there is a great chance to see Aura in taxi companies, where it can replace cars served at higher rates – for example, Toyota Camry. However, Chinese automakers, which have recently dramatically increased their influence on the Russian market, also want to occupy this niche.
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