Ever since Renault hit it really big with their low-cost Dacia brand, all other manufacturers have tried to adopt the successful model. However, nobody liked models like the Fiat Albea or Peugeot 206 sedan, or others of the sort, and while they did sell, they couldn’t match the sheer volume of sales that Dacia was getting with the Logan sedan, in so many varied markets, including western Europe.
What is needed is not a ridiculous hack and then glue back together job, like Peugeot seemed to have done with the aforementioned 206 sedan, but rather a car built from the onset as a cheap model, like the Logan.
Now, though, the spiritual successor of the Lada Riva has made its way into Europe, as Russia Today reports that AutoVAZ has shipped batches of their new Granta sedan to Germany and the Czech Republic, in order to test out the market.
Apparently, they think they could sell some 5,000 cars annually, in Europe, not necessarily for profits, as the source article states, but perhaps as an image-building move for the home markets.
Regarding the appeal of the Granta, former Volvo design chief Steve Mattin, who now works for AutoVAZ and is responsible for the affordable sedan, said “we are designing for the Russian market, but I think they will be very appealing outside of this country because of the modernity, because of the change in proportions, and because of the general product improvements”.
By Andrei Nedelea
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