Lada is the trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Togliatti, Samara Oblast. All AvtoVAZ vehicles sold currently are of the Lada brand but this has not always been so. Ladas were AvtoVAZ's export vehicles, the same models being sold under the Zhiguli brand on the domestic Soviet market since 1970. They became extremely popular during later decades in Russia and Eastern Europe, particularly the former Soviet bloc countries where they have become a symbol of city life. From cities like Prague to Astana, Kazakhstan Lada cars are a very common automobile on the urban landscape. Lada made its name in Western Europe selling the Fiat 124-based VAZ-2101 and its many derivatives as an economy car in large quantities during the 1980s, but subsequent models have not enjoyed the same success. The common Lada sedan/estate, sometimes known as the Classic in the west (Signet in Canada), was partly based on the 1966 Fiat 124 sedan, and has become a successful cars in export. The keys to its success were: competitive price as an export, simple DIY friendly mechanics, unpretentious functionality, and lack of competition on its USSR home market. Since 1980 over 13.5 million Ladas have been badged as 'Rivas', (re-styled to resemble the well-regarded Volvo 200 series), with another 5 million made from 1969 - 1979 (badged as 2101-2107 depending on engine size/interior specs) for a total of over 18.5 million. Lada terminated the Classic series in the 1990s but production of the model with uprated specifications still continues in significant numbers elsewhere. The car was built under licence in several other countries. Being exported worldwide in the 1980s and '90s, the Lada was a big earner of foreign hard currency for the hard pressed Soviet economy, and was also used in barter arrangements in some countries. Over 60% of Lada production was exported, mainly to western countries (the US was the only large market not to have imported Ladas) and Lada is unique in being the only car brand found on every continent of the world, including Antarctica (where the Russian research base used Lada Nivas). The rugged design of the Lada Classic, built with heavier gauge steel bodywork, to cope with extreme Siberian climates, poor roads and few service facilities in many parts of Siberia, meant that high mileages (300,000 mls [480,000 km]) were possible under less extreme operating conditions. Because of their very competitive pricing and ease of service, Ladas are common as police cars, taxis, and a range of public service/civil defence vehicles in many parts of Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. In March 2008, Renault purchased a 25% stake in AvtoVAZ in a $US1 billion deal. This is expected to result in new Lada models being developed on existing Russian assembly lines and increased output. The remaining 75% of AutoVAZ continues to be owned by the Russian state owned Rostekhnologia corporation. Lada is now part of the Renault-Nissan-Lada group, which is the world's third largest automotive group (after General Motors and Toyota).[1] In spite of a flood of western models into the Russian market in recent years, Lada has managed to maintain fairly constant sales figures.
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lada