Russia’s car industry stuns its rivals once again

On the same day that Tesla showed a Roadster in Texas with compressed-air thrusters based on SpaceX technology, capable of accelerating to 96 km/h in less than two seconds, Russian car enthusiasts received news of an updated Niva Bronto. Output from its 1.7-litre engine rises from 83 horsepower to 90.

But that is a full 8.4 per cent increase in power! At this rate, the Niva could match the output of a modern sports car in just a few decades. Provided, of course, that nobody invents any more electric cars, flying cars or new cars of any kind in the meantime.

AvtoVAZ did not stop at the engine, either. The updated Niva Bronto also received improved brakes and a driver’s airbag. The latter is a particularly noteworthy achievement, given that most of the world’s carmakers adopted this revolutionary safety feature back in the last century. And if a potential customer still has doubts, the door can be opened to reveal the new cupholders. That should resolve any dilemma that might arise.

The asking price for all this is around €15,000. You could call it a genuine technological time machine: customers can buy an off-roader with a 1970s design, an engine that is now slightly more powerful and, at last, an airbag to protect the driver.

In fairness, the Niva’s off-road capability has been quite respectable over the decades. But that does not change the fact that, at a time when rivals are working on new powertrains, software and autonomous driving, one of AvtoVAZ’s most noteworthy announcements is seven extra horsepower.

World domination starts in Dubai. On paper, at least

AvtoVAZ’s ambitions are by no means limited to the Russian market. The company has been talking about expanding its export markets for years, and the United Arab Emirates was chosen as one particularly prestigious destination.

In 2024, AvtoVAZ chief Maksim Sokolov promised that a Lada dealership would open on Dubai’s famous car sales street, where Ferrari and Lamborghini also have dealerships.

The idea was undoubtedly excellent. Imagine a wealthy Dubai customer heading out to buy a new Lamborghini, only to spot a Niva next door. A few minutes later, the decision is made: why spend hundreds of thousands of euros on an Italian supercar when a Russian off-roader offers a far more impressive driving experience?

Unfortunately, world domination did not go quite to plan.

In November 2024, Lada’s UAE website appeared online, listing models and prices. A Lada Granta cost 71,400 dirhams and a Vesta 88,700 dirhams. The Niva was not cheap either: the Legend cost 67,000 dirhams and the Travel 81,700 dirhams.

The publication of the prices caused some embarrassment. In some cases, Ladas were in some cases more expensive than comparable Kia and Toyota models. That is entirely understandable, of course: exclusivity comes at a price, and buying a Toyota in Dubai has presumably long been far too ordinary a thing to do. A few days after the prices reached the Russian media, Lada’s local website stopped working. Instead of cars, visitors were greeted by a black screen reading “Coming soon”. It has now disappeared altogether.

Presumably, someone realised that customers would need a little more preparation before being sold such a technological legacy.

Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Lada. Spot the odd one out

In April 2025, however, the long-awaited breakthrough arrived. A Lada showroom opened in Dubai, and photographs appeared in the media. And what photographs they were!

A Lada Iskra and a Niva Sport stood in the same showroom as used luxury cars, including a Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus, Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Mercedes-AMG GT.

It is not a combination you see every day. Different eras of global automotive engineering were represented in one showroom, from handcrafted luxury cars to designs with roots deep in the Soviet Union. Lada’s prices had changed slightly in the meantime, but the asking price for a Niva Legend was still at least 65,000 dirhams. The cars were roughly 50 per cent more expensive than in their home market.

Making things even more interesting was the fact that the display cars had not been properly adapted for the local market. They had Russian-language labels, lacked the necessary Arabic warnings, and some of the Nivas even bore stickers stating that the vehicle was not for sale. That last detail was probably the most honest part of the entire display.

Journalists were initially unable to establish whether this was an official sales operation or simply an exhibition. AvtoVAZ said sales would begin in a couple of days. But they do have a different way of reckoning time over there.

In December 2025, the first official shipment of cars arrived in Dubai, and the company announced that the dealership’s full opening was planned for 2026.

Lada now has a local website and a showroom in Dubai, but as of October there was no confirmation that the promised sales operation had begun or that any sales had been made.

In other words, almost two and a half years after the grand promise, the results of the bid for world domination, at least, remain negligible.

Seven horsepower at a time, conquering the world

AvtoVAZ’s situation does nevertheless offer grounds for optimism. Lada has managed to keep the Niva in production for almost half a century, and has now even added an airbag and seven horsepower.

There are, of course, reasons to be cautious about the Tesla Roadster too. The car’s flight demonstration took place under controlled conditions, series production is not expected to begin until 2028, and it remains far from clear how much of the technology shown will ultimately reach customers.

But at least the Americans have set their sights on a car that defies gravity. Russia’s goals are considerably more down to earth. For now, the aim there is to defy the passage of time. And in that field, the Lada Niva truly is world-class.