OREANDA-NEWS Starting from January 2026, AvtoVAZ is going to return to a five-day working week, the Telegram channel Pool No. 3 reported. This was stated by the head of the concern Maxim Sokolov, adding that the plants are ready to increase production to meet the needs of the country.

Despite the difficulties caused by the restructuring of supplies and the need to localize the production of parts after 2022, the company continues to develop the product range. In the coming year, it will feature a new Azimut family crossover.

The consequences of the industry downturn also apply to AvtoVAZ, Sokolov noted. In the first ten months of this year, the production of passenger cars in Russia decreased by 9.6 percent. The situation is complicated by expensive loans, which directly affects consumer demand.

This forced the concern to reduce capacity utilization. If in 2024 the manufacturer's factories produced more than 500 thousand cars, then in 2025 — 320 thousand cars. Despite this, the company is confident that the new economic cycle of the Russian automotive industry will be a time of growth and technological developments.

Earlier it became known about the start of sales of the updated Lada Vesta 2026 model year. The model received an improved media system and a new electronic architecture with a key card.