Moskvitch rises from the dead, but in an unspectacular way

One non-Russian car manufacturer after another pulled the plug on their Russian adventures as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions against the country. So is Renault Group. It said goodbye to its majority stake in the Russian AvtoVaz – the parent company of Lada – and put an end to Renault Russia. Renault’s Russian branch produced cars in the former Moskvitch factory and Russia was more or less forced to mothball the Moskvitch brand name in order to compensate somewhat for Renault’s loss. Moskvitch has now presented its first car, but has put little effort into it.

The original: the JAC Sehol X4.

Meet the Moskvitch 3, the first car from the resurrected brand. The Moskvitch 3 is not a self-developed model at all. We are dealing with a Moskvitch rebadged crossover from the Chinese JAC Motors. The Moskvitch 3 is nothing more than a JAC Sehol X4 with its own logos. The Sehol X4 itself is certainly not new, as it is the facelifted variant of the JAC Refine S4 that has existed since 2018.

It is therefore not surprising that the Moskvitch 3 technically corresponds completely to the JAC Sehol X4. It is 4.41 meters long, has a wheelbase of 2.62 meters and is therefore more or less comparable to cars such as the Nissan Qashqai. Under the hood of the Moskvitch 3 is a 150 hp and 210 Nm strong 1.5 four-cylinder petrol engine. It can be linked to both a manual six-speed gearbox and a CVT. The Sino-Russian crossover has a 10.25-inch digital instrument panel and an infotainment screen of the same diameter. The car is available with adaptive cruise control and extras such as an electrically operated tailgate. The first units rolled off the line this week at the production facility now called Moskvich Moscow Automobile Plant. That is the factory where Renault used to produce and which is now owned by the Russian state. Still, it’s pretty amazing how quickly the Russians got things on track. In about six months, the factory has been prepared for the Moskvitch 3, although the car is not fully produced there. The car comes as an SKD (Semi Knocked Down) package from China to Russia where the Moskvitch 3 is then assembled.

The interior of the Moskvitch 3 also comes straight from the JAC Sehol X4.

Moskvitch also has an electric version of the 3 in the barrel, which also exists from the Chinese original after all. The electric Sehol EX40 version of the Sehol X4 has a 55 kWh or 66 kWh large battery pack and, according to the Chinese measuring cycle, will travel 420 and 500 kilometers consecutively. Moskvitch will also develop its own cars together with its Russian partner Kamaz. They will be placed on their own platform, the hardware required for those EVs must come from Russia. Moskvitch also indicates that it eventually wants to produce more parts in Russia for the cars it does not develop itself.