Russian Auto Industry

The first Russian electric car "Kama-1": 6.7 seconds to a hundred and an autopilot of the 3rd level
Dmitry Elizarov
December 10, 2020

The public premiere of the pre-production prototype of the Kama-1 electric car took place within the framework of the VuzPromExpo exhibition, and was presented by the Minister of Science Valery Falkov. The small electric crossover is already ready for mass production and may enter the market in 2021.

The electric car was developed by the competence center of the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, but the technological partner of the development group, KamAZ, also participated in its premiere. It took about two years to create "Kama-1".

The four-seater electric car is positioned as a compact crossover. In terms of its overall dimensions, the Kama-1 occupies an intermediate position between the Smart ForTwo and the MINI hatchback: the length is 3.4 m, the width is 1.7 m, the height is 1.6 m. The wheelbase is 2.1 m.

The front of the car has a MacPherson strut, in the back there is a multi-link suspension. The drive is only for the rear axle. Despite the fact that the novelty is considered a crossover, the officially declared ground clearance of the electric vehicle is 160 millimeters.


The Kama-1 electric motor develops 80 kW. With it, the 1,300-kilogram three-door can accelerate to 60 km / h in 3.2 seconds (up to 100 km / h in 6.7 seconds) at a top speed of 150 km / h. The promised power reserve is within the range of 250 to 300 kilometers, depending on the driving mode, and is provided by a 33-kilowatt battery. It will take 6 hours to recharge it from a household outlet, but there is also a function of accelerated energy replenishment in 20 minutes.

The list of equipment of the demo unit includes fully LED optics, animated direction indicators, 17-inch wheels, an air conditioner and a single 9-inch monitor, which simultaneously serves as a dashboard and a control panel for both the media system and additional functions. In addition, the electric vehicle was equipped with a level 3 semi-autonomous control system. For example, Honda is just planning to start installing a similar "autopilot" on its production cars.

Valery Falkov said that the serial production of "Kama-1" could begin as early as next year - most likely, at the facilities of KamAZ. At the same time, according to the agency "RIA Novosti", the price of an electric car has risen recently. Earlier, the estimated cost of "Kama" was called a million rubles - this is how much an electric car could cost to the end buyer, subject to mass assembly. The figure announced at the presentation is already 1.2 million rubles.

The timing of the start of the assembly has not yet been announced: the electric car has yet to go through the last stage of testing.

It is possible that in 2021 another national electric car, the Zetta hatchback, will appear on the Russian market, the project of which has been suspended for financial reasons.
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The production of the new "Niva" began. First official photos:

AvtoVAZ has officially announced the start of production of a restyled version of the Lada Niva SUV, which, along with the new appearance, received a modified name. After restyling, the model will be called Lada Niva Travel.



The upgraded SUV has got a completely new "face" with a different bumper, a larger radiator grill with embossed filling, different standard optics and an alternative hood. The taillights are now LED and the bumper is more prominent. In addition, Lada Niva Travel is distinguished by enlarged wheel arches and doors, as well as a new design of rims (it was previously reported that they can be up to 17 inches).

How the interior of the SUV will change has not yet been reported.

The first off the assembly line of the Lada West Togliatti enterprise was Niva Travel in the Off-road version, which is additionally equipped with a factory snorkel, off-road tires and a body kit made of unpainted plastic. In the photos published by the plant, the SUV looks similar to those cars, the images of which appeared in early December .

AvtoVAZ has not yet specified whether the model has been modified from a technical point of view. OTTS published last week in the public domain for Lada Niva suggests the release of two modifications of the SUV with different dimensions and number of seats. At the same time, the power unit of Lada Niva will remain unchanged - it is a 1.7-liter 80-horsepower engine working with a 5-speed "mechanics" and an all-wheel drive system with a transfer case and a mechanical center differential lock.

When exactly the updated SUV will go on sale is unknown.

https://mag.auto.ru/article/newnivaofficialimages/

It became known what changes will receive the restyled "Lada Vesta"

20 December 2020

This year Lada Vesta celebrated its 5th anniversary: ​​serial production of the model began in September 2015. And next year, an updated car should enter the market.

According to the AvtoVAZ News community , the Izhevsk plant has made a pilot batch of restyled sedans. Photos of the car are not published, but, according to the source, the car received the following changes:

LED headlights and taillights;
bumpers of a different shape;
new front panel in the cabin;
new steering wheel;
a modernized media system based on the Yandex Auto platform;
In addition, the washer nozzles of the updated Vesta are located not on the hood, as before, but under the windshield. In the older trim levels of the car, there will be front parking sensors and headlight washers. On the technical side, no noticeable innovations are planned.

The serial production of the restyled sedan should start in mid-2021. AvtoVAZ has not yet officially confirmed the information about the debut of the updated Vesta. And the nearest novelties of the plant will be two modernized models - the Lada Niva SUV and the Lada Largus station wagon .

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UAZ is preparing to launch in the USA, but the cars for the American market will be renamed

December 24, 2020

The Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant twice tried to enter the US market. The first time was in the seventies, when the Soviet "Autoexport" wanted to sell the UAZ-469 SUV under the Lada brand in the States .

The second attempt took place in 1994, when a local entrepreneur decided to offer UAZ vehicles to the Americans, collected orders, but could not organize regular deliveries of cars.

And here is the third attempt. This time the American branch of the Italian company Bremach, engaged in the production of special equipment, became a partner of the Ulyanovskites.

It's too early to talk about the launch of sales, two UAZ SUVs have already been sent to the United States for testing and certification. New names have already been invented for the cars for the American market: " Patriot " became Bremach Taos, and " Pickup " was named Bremach Brio.

Cars will be offered only in a rich configuration and only with an automatic transmission, which the UAZ received last year. Preliminary prices are $ 26,400 for the SUV and $ 27,900 for the pickup.

Despite the fact that the cars are not yet certified, the official Bremach website is already accepting pre-orders for Russian cars.

By the way, UAZ and Bremach already collaborated at the end of the 2000s: then in Ulyanovsk they wanted to organize the assembly of Italian T-Rex all-terrain vehicles , but this project was not implemented.

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The timing of the release of the Russian off-road vehicle Aurus Komendant
Kirill Malyshev
23 december 2020

The second model of the Russian luxury brand Aurus - the Komendant SUV - will enter the assembly line in the spring of 2022. This is reported by Autonews with reference to the head of the brand Adil Shirinov.

The plant in Alabuga was chosen as the production site. Now preparatory work is underway there, equipment is purchased and installed for the production of a new model. The main agenda is the beginning of assembly of serial sedans Aurus Senat. It should start in the coming months. And only then the turn of the SUV will come, which is supposed to become the most popular model of the brand.

Aurus' top manager noted that the Senate and the Commandant are based on the same platform and have a lot of common details. Therefore, to a certain extent, preparations for their production are proceeding in parallel. However, the cars are not completely identical, and after the development of the sedan, it will take about a year and a half for the SUV to become serial.

Aurus Komendant was planned to be shown in serial form at the Moscow International Motor Show last autumn. However, the exhibition was canceled due to the pandemic. Along the way, it became known that the manufacturer postponed the certification of the car to the end of 2021. Like the sedan, the SUV will receive a hybrid power plant based on a 4.4-liter V-shaped engine and 600 horsepower. The gearbox is a domestic 9-speed automatic transmission.

Earlier, the first buyer of the sedan Aurus Senate, not associated with government agencies, became known. This is a leasing company closely related to the Avilon group, which, in turn, is a dealer of Aurus.

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