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Russia's biggest car manufacturer has been forced to stop production of its premium model after just one year, according to reports. Avotvaz is the company that produces Lada cars, employing over 30,000 people across its four production facilities in Togliatti, St Petersburg, Izhevsk and Argun.

Last year the company debuted the Lada Aura, which was intended as a premium-class business sedan and positioned as a top-range model in the company's lineup. It was primarily developed to serve government agencies and the corporate sector, aiming to replace foreign brands previously used by Russian officials. However, the Mash Telegram channel is reporting that the company has closed down production due to a catastrophic lack of sales.

The channel claimed Avtovaz shut down the line in July and the car never returned to production. The company planned to make 3,000 cars by the end of 2024 and another 8,000 in 2025.

However, dealers estimated that the production volume was no more than 5,000 to 6,000, according to Mash.

Avtovaz has strenuously denied the reports, insisting that production of the model is still on going.

A spokesperson for the company told the Russian website autonews.ru: "Lada Aura production is proceeding as usual. We do not consider Mash a source of information."

Despite their denial, sales of Lada Aura have been extremely disappointing. Data supplied by the Avtostat agency show that between January and August 2025 just 792 Lada Auras had been sold.

More than half (53%) were sold to individuals, while the remaining vehicles were registered to organisations.

In an apparent bid to help boost car sales for Avotovaz, Putin even visited the Togliatti production plant while on a visit to the Samara region in January.

The Kremlin boss was given a tour of the factory by AvtoVAZ President Maxim Sokolov, who showed him a prototype of Lada Iskra.

The Mash Telegram channel is run by individuals with ties to the Kremlin and the presidential administration, according to investigative reports by The Insider.