Lada/Daewoo/GM Niva

New Lada may get the badge treatment

By PH Staff / Wednesday, 27 August 2003 / Loading comments

The cheap and cheerful Lada Niva off-roader could make a comeback on British roads, but wearing a very different badge shaking off some of the legacy of jokes that the marque has been lumbered with. To most British buyers Lada still spells 'Fish and Chip shop owner from Grimsby'.

The new Niva has been developed and built by a joint venture between Avtovaz, which makes Ladas, and American giant General Motors.

It went on sale at the end of last year in Russia with a Chevrolet badge boasting all the latest technology and quality standards. Currently it is only being sold in its home country.

Engineers are working on putting Opel's 1.8-litre engine under the bonnet ready to go on the market round the world. That's unlikely to happen for at least another year while the marketing people look at where they want to sell it - Britain included.

The Niva is currently equipped with a Russian-built 1.7-litre engine.

No decision on what badge to put on it has been made, according to GM's Russian chief Heidi McCormack. "This will depend on individual markets," she added.

It is known that GM is planning to use the Daewoo badge - it bought the troubled South Korean company last year - in countries where Chevrolet does not have a big name.

The plan is to build 100,000 Nivas a year in Russia with half of these going for export. That export price will be interesting. In Russia, the new Niva sells for less than the equivalent of £6,000.