The Lada Niva is a mini sport utility vehicle produced by the AvtoVaz Group. Originally known as the VAZ-2123 in the car's design stage, the SUV was branded as the Chevrolet Niva between 1998 and 2020 when AvtoVAZ was in a joint venture with General Motors called GM-AvtoVAZ. The car was rebranded as the Lada Niva in 2020 after General Motors sold its 50-percent stake in the firm, which means that the car now has the same name that the Lada 4x4/VAZ-2121 has in certain European markets.
First generation
It features an updated body and 1.7-litre gasoline engine with fuel injection. Although the body and the interiors are new, it is still based on the old VAZ 2121 engine, transmission and most mechanicals. In 2003 the car was awarded zero stars out of a possible four by the Russian ARCAP safety assessment program. An export version with reinforced hull, 1.8-litre Opel Ecotec Family 1 gasoline engine and Aisinfour-wheel drive has been under consideration since 2003. Although most of the engineering work has been completed, the release has been constantly postponed. Although the GM-AvtoVAZ considered building a new engine plant for the local production of Ecotecs, in July 2005 it was announced that the project was cancelled, along with plans for the long-anticipated "export" Niva. However, the project was revived in Fall 2006 and the "Niva FAM1" was introduced as a new trim level for the 2007 model year. The price was much higher than the standard trim, that made the project not as successful and led it to be discontinued in April 2008. Another reason was the ceasing of Ecotec engine production at the Hungarian plant. In 2009, the model got a minor update, featuring a slight restyling, done by Bertone studio and some minor-changes. The GLS and GLC version also comes with improved safety, such as ABS and dual front airbags.
GM-AvtoVAZ introduced a concept vehicle for a new generation of the Chevrolet Niva at the Moscow International Automobile Salon in late August 2014. The Niva Concept, designed by Ondrej Koromház of GM, had a longitudinal mounted engine, full-time four-wheel-drive, two-gear transfer case and rigid-axle rear suspension. The production model was supposed to get a 1.8-liter PSA Peugeot Citroën EC8 engine paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox, although more recent news reports suggested that it was planned to be based on the Renault Duster platform. The new model's production version was initially expected in 2016, but following Chevrolet stopping sales of its mainstream models in Russia, no information has been released on the topic. In September of 2018, it was reported that GM has suspended all the work on planned replacement of Chevrolet Niva.
