Sales of the Lada Iskra started on July 20, and the first owners have already taken the car apart. In particular, the authors of the "Club Service" channel found not only the usual Chinese-made components in the car, but also body parts marked as French-made. As it turned out, it's not about any special technical solutions, but about the fact that the factory used old stamping dies. The company explained that ordering new tooling just for a different logo is economically impractical.
However, the approaches of Russian import substitution have long existed as if in a different reality. The car, whose design was started by French engineers, is now being refined by Chinese specialists, and it is sold under the banner of a major Russian automotive school. And all this happens at a time when even ordinary wires have to be ordered on AliExpress through a third-party account.
As a result, we got a rather peculiar product: the Iskra appeared on the market two years later than planned, externally resembles models from 2018, uses what is left of previous developments, and at the same time prides itself on its "localized" status. If localization means a body with Renault inscriptions, a Chinese engine under the hood, and assembly in Togliatti accompanied by slogans about import substitution, then yes — the level is estimated at 90%.
Here it is worth recalling that in Ukraine, we also once drove VAZ cars. However, now we produce European cars (and this despite the war!), rather than assembling the remnants of imperial ambitions. And this is what inspires optimism. As for the Lada Iskra, it evokes only a feeling of sadness. And sushi.
