Pininfarina and AvtoVAZ Talking About Italian Lada Niva Production

Just the Facts:

• Pininfarina may start production of the Russian AvtoVAZ's new Niva and ZIL models.
• Estimated production volumes were not disclosed.

TURIN, Italy — Pininfarina, the legendary Italian car-design firm and coachbuilder, is looking to hold talks with AvtoVAZ about building the Lada Niva SUV.

According to sources close to the project, the production of the new model could take place in Italy in Pininfarina's facility. It is currently idle, but it most recently built the Mitsubishi Pajero Pinin SUVs. Pininfarina SpA is also considering acquiring the Niva brand from its current owner, General Motors.

Estimated production volumes were not disclosed.

If the project comes to fruition, most of the Nivas are expected to be sold in Europe, where it still remains a well-known brand, having appeared for the first time back in 1970.

Pininfarina is also ready to develop a new platform and a unified corporate style for all Lada cars, including for project R90, a seven-seat Lada wagon. The implementation of this project may take one to two years, according to Pininfarina.

Total investment for both projects is estimated at several hundred million dollars.

In addition to Niva production, Pininfarina is interested in resuming production of luxury cars at the Russian ZIL factory. Most of these cars would be specially designed for Russian political leaders.

According to Gabrielle Misty, president of the investment firm ZAO ItalTreydInvest, the official Russian partner of Pininfarina, the new model will be probably based on the existing ZIL platform. However, the company has not ruled out the possibility of the development of a new platform.

Inside Line says: A good name for Ladas to be associated with. — Evgeniy Vorotnikov, Correspondent