AvtoVAZcars are currently the only car brand name contains unusual semantic pleonasm but you have to agree that AvtoVAZ cars have something unique that makes the production hits nearly a million cars a year.

The Russian car maker AvtoVAZ (ABTOBA3 in Russian) was founded in 1966 in collaboration with one of the top Italian car brand Fiat. Currently, 25% of AvtoVAZ is own by a famous French car maker Renault.

AvtoVAZ stands for Avtomobilniy Volzhsky Avtomobilny Zavod. Most of the export AvtoVAZ cars were sold under the Lada brand because the trademark is easier to remember. Some of the notable Lada cars sold worldwide are Lada Kalina, Lada 110, the VAZ-2101, VAZ-2102, and VAZ-2103 which based on the Fiat 124.

During ‘70s to mid ‘80s, AvtoVAZ VAZ-2101 is one of the best selling cars which also known as Lada 1200. The car was a localized version of the Fiat 124 but sell at cheaper price. It also known as the Zhiguli within the Soviet Union.

List of AvtoVAZ models

• VAZ-2101 – Lada 1200
• VAZ-2102 – Lada 1200 Combi
• VAZ-2103 – Lada 1500
• VAZ-2104 – Lada Nova or Lada Laika
• VAZ-2105 – Lada Nova or Lada Junior
• VAZ-2106 – Lada 1600
• VAZ-2107 – Lada Riva
• VAZ-2108 – Lada Samara or Lada Chelnok
• VAZ-2109 – Lada Samara L1300
• VAZ-21099 – Lada Samara Forma
• VAZ-2123 – Chevrolet Niva

AvtoVAZ cars produced after 2000 are Lada 111, Lada 112, Lada Samara, Lada Kalina, and Lada Priora.

In a nutshell, AvtoVAZ is to target on cheaper car market. AvtoVAZ brand may not famous in some countries due to the restriction such as Italy to protect Fiat brand. However, there are many countries import AvtoVAZ and Lada cars including Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Finland, Jamaica, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Trinida and Tobago, Turkey, Egypt, and Ireland. It is very easy to buy new or used AvtoVAZ cars if you are from these countries.