Chinese models
Russia has revived the former Soviet car brand Volga. According to Russian media, three new models have been presented at an industrial trade fair.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the West imposed many sanctions on Russia. As a result, there are virtually no Western cars available in the country anymore. That is why Russia is now looking at old own brands again. The Moskvitch brand also returned last year. Now, as expected, Volga is back in the party.
The new Volgas will roll off the production line at the well-known Russian car factory Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ) in the city of Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga. Volkswagens and Skodas were still made there before the war in Ukraine. The ‘new’ Volga models are rebadged models from the Chinese Changan. Only the front bumper and grille are our own design. According to the German news agency dpa, a video is also circulating in which Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin criticizes the fact that even the steering wheel of the new Volgas is made in China. “I want the steering wheel to be Russian,” he has said.
The first Volgas date from the 1950s and were especially popular among the administrative elite during the Soviet era. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the borders opened and many Western cars came onto the market. Under pressure from competition, production was stopped in 2010. In the photo above you see a Volga 31105 from 2004.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl