Zhiguli (car brand)

Zhiguli (Russian: Жигули, IPA: [ʐɨɡʊˈlʲi]) was a designation of cars manufactured in Russia and the Soviet Union by AvtoVAZ during 1970-2012 and somewhat longer in some places abroad. [1] The export variants were branded as Lada.

Early models (left to right): VAZ-2101 (1970), VAZ-2102 (1971) and VAZ-2103 (1972)

The car was also manufactured in Ukraine and in Egypt. In Egypt the last car of this model was manufactured in 2014. [2]

The designation is named after the Zhiguli Mountains by the Volga River, to match the name of the plant ('VAZ' stands for "Volzhsky Avtomobilny Zavod" or "Volga Automobile Plant").

There have been 7 models of this designation: VAZ-2101, VAZ-2102, VAZ-2103,VAZ-2104, VAZ-2105, VAZ-2106, VAZ-2107, with modifications indicated by an extra digit, see List of AvtoVAZ vehicles. The longest-living model was VAZ-2105 (1979-2010).

The designation name was officially abandoned by the plant in the mid-1990s.