Former advisor to Bo Andersson: The availability of Russian cars is a political question.

Our interview with Alexey Agureev, an expert in industrial communications and former advisor to Bo Andersson at AVTOVAZ and UzAuto Motors, was cited by a number of professional websites and provoked quite a few contradictory comments. That is why we decided to ask Alexey to continue our conversation.

Corr.: Alexey, many commenters were distrustful of your idea of following the example of Uzbekistan’s automotive industry.

A.A.: You know, this is not the first time I have encountered this. For some reason, readers find it very difficult to accept the idea that over 30 years Uzbekistan has managed to find a working business model and build its own automotive industry from scratch, which is gradually but ever more confidently winning leading positions both in the Turkic world and across the post-Soviet space. And we, for our part, are still lurching from side to side – from one business model to another.

I always note that I do not idealize the Uzbek experience, that in any production there is always room for criticism, but one cannot deny that in recent years Uzbek UzAuto Motors has repeatedly surpassed our AVTOVAZ in production volume. By the way, this happened once again last year, when the Russian auto giant produced 324,558 cars, while 393,200 vehicles rolled off the assembly line of the Uzbek enterprise – 68 thousand more.

I always highly appreciate the efforts of AVTOVAZ, which managed to restore production after 2022 under extremely difficult conditions. After all, right now, in principle, the production volumes of Lada and Uzbek Chevrolets are quite comparable. Moreover, as 2024 showed, AVTOVAZ can produce significantly more cars – 525,525 units. The difference with Uzbekistan is that UzAuto Motors’ products not only do not sit idle at dealers, but are usually sold out via pre-orders long before they even reach the assembly line. And it is precisely this factor – high demand among buyers in one’s own country – that is becoming extremely important at the moment. In fact – politically important.

What allows Uzbek automakers to guarantee high demand? The answer is very simple: the state essentially controls car prices, keeping them at a level acceptable to the buyer. Well, as for what is happening with our prices for domestically produced cars, I think there is no need to comment.

Corr.: But isn’t state price control a non-market mechanism?

A.A.: It is as market-based as it gets, given that the main car manufacturer – UzAuto Motors – is controlled by the state company UzAvtoSanoat, which gradually, over many years, bought out production from foreign partners. And thus, by regulating prices through its management company, the state not only essentially subsidizes the purchase of modern cars by the most diverse segments of the population, but also effectively contributes to citizens’ positive perception of reality and the strengthening of political stability in the country.

Let me repeat myself once again: yes, Uzbekistan’s automotive industry, like the automotive industry of probably any country, has its own problems; yes, there are “gray dealers,” essentially speculators; yes, there is a “waiting list,” which is reminiscent of Soviet times. But at the same time, there is stable demand, stable production, and all of this works for internal stability in the country – because under any scenario, you can buy a new car at an acceptable price within a year.

Now let’s look at the fascinating world of Russian social media, various automotive channels and websites, and of course, let’s not forget the comments of our users. The main impression from all of this is simply a veritable “ninth wave” of negative reviews, a storm of negative emotions, and a real barrage of “first-person stories” about how, when, where, and what broke down on a purchased domestically made car.

If I were yet another conspiracy theorist, I would probably decide that competitors are deliberately working against the domestic manufacturer. But I am a PR person, and therefore I perfectly understand that there is no conspiracy here – it’s just that negativity always, so to speak, sells better. That is precisely why authors and commenters rarely share positive experiences and favorable impressions, because you can’t achieve wide reach with that kind of article.

Yes, the obvious bias of “social media journalism” is visible to the naked eye. But one cannot help but notice how the indignation of car enthusiasts is growing over the disproportion between the price and quality of domestically produced cars. Let me clarify: this applies not only to AVTOVAZ products, but also to one-day brands whose names are easy to get confused about. Yet it is precisely these that experts for some reason often praise.

Corr.: And these brands don’t deserve praise?

A.A.: I would put it differently: there is too much attention, and too often it is concentrated, especially on social media, on bright external factors, on the shell, rather than on what really matters.

Just the other day I read an article by one expert about how the competition for leadership in passenger car production volume between UzAuto Motors and AVTOVAZ is intensifying. But what seems important to me is not how many cars these two companies produced, but a completely different fact:

According to official statistics for 2025, 673,000 passenger cars were produced in Russia, 48% of them being AVTOVAZ products. But in the same year, almost 1,317,000 new cars were sold in the Russian Federation.

In other words, at the moment, purely Russian automobile manufacturing accounts for less than half of the production market on the territory of the Russian Federation and less than a quarter of sales volume on its own market. In my opinion, with such input data, the last thing experts should worry about is competition with UzAuto Motors, which isn’t even present on the Russian market.

I have always advocated and continue to advocate for multilateral cooperation with foreign partners, but today it seems rather imprudent to put all our eggs in one basket. As they say, friendship is friendship, but tobacco – in this case, the automotive industry – is apart.

Corr.: But still, what can be said about the brands that have come to us?

A.A.: That’s the problem – when talking about them, one can only rely on personal impressions and general reasoning.

Let me share a memory: when we first met with Bo Andersson, he mentioned achieving a sharp 50% improvement in Lada quality. As a former journalist and a typical Doubting Thomas, I ironically asked what such a nice round figure was based on. And Andersson immediately showed data on the increased percentage of body geometry, improved first-time pass rates for vehicle acceptance, reduced complaints from dealers after vehicles arrived, fewer warranty claims over three months, over six months, and several other similar indicators. It was precisely these data, along with a number of other indicators, that Andersson focused on during morning production meetings.

A small digression: all heads of key departments met with the company president every day at 6:30 in the morning in a room next to the assembly line, where the meeting took place. There, plans for the day and near-term prospects were clarified, and operational issues were resolved. A huge amount of time was saved, because it wasn’t production workers scheduling appointments with management – the company president started every day by solving their problems.

– But why is the first meeting at half past six in the morning? – I once asked the president. – That’s early!

– The worker starts his day at 07:00. When he comes to his place at the assembly line, he should see his manager and understand that we are all one team, that we’ve been awake for a long time, that we’ve thought through his workday and prepared the work front!

At these meetings, Bo Andersson always, without exception, checked quality indicators. And he never had anything against journalists visiting the plants photographing and filming all the schemes, charts, and reports on quality indicators. Although, it would seem, these were internal documents.

But it was clear, visual, and visible, and in the end it was precisely this open approach that helped overcome the ironic and negative attitude toward the Lada brand that prevailed at the time. After all, remember: hardly a single KVN or Comedy Club went by without some joker taking a dig at the domestic brand.

Corr.: But what do we actually really know about the brands that have come to us, about their strengths and weaknesses?

A.A.: You know, in the 1990s I worked as an ITAR-TASS correspondent in the USA and first became acquainted with Consumer Reports magazine, whose name can be translated as “Consumer Reports.” I won’t go into a detailed account now; I’ll just say that the magazine helps make objective purchasing decisions for goods and services – a sort of “Buyer’s Notebook.” Among other things, Consumer Reports annually publishes car reviews taking into account all the pros and cons.

So, although four years have already passed since 2022, I still haven’t been able to find consolidated information about the pros and cons of the “friendly” brands that have appeared here. Yes, there are plenty of reviews, there are quite a few review websites, but let’s honestly admit: they don’t give the potential buyer an objective picture, and their objectivity itself raises many questions.

Well, if you use open sources and look at what car enthusiasts complain about, the picture is far from rosy:

• Corrosion appears quickly
• Snow gets into the cabin in winter
• Door handles freeze
• The sunroof leaks
• Air gets into the fuel system
• Errors occur in the engine, gearbox, and power steering
• Lighting fixtures fog up and fail
• Surround-view cameras shut off
• The hood won’t open
• The suspension knocks
• Brake problems occur
• The steering column jams
• Climate control operates inadequately
• An unpleasant odor appears in the cabin
• Delivery of spare parts and components is very slow
• Service centers are overloaded due to a mass of requests
• Strong depreciation in resale value

And much more.

Do Russian drivers encounter these and other problems with Chinese cars? Absolutely, yes! But is this list of problems objective? Probably still not, because it’s completely unclear how often these problems occur and how difficult they are to fix. There is neither clear statistics nor analysis of how these problems affect the consumer qualities of the vehicles.

In general, perhaps consumer protection organizations should take up this kind of analytics. If, of course, they manage to convince the mass consumer of the real objectivity of the research. Especially if they can also answer the question of how and with what the current car prices are justified!

Corr.: And one last question. AVTOVAZ in the very near future promises the Russian buyer the Lada Azimut. What would you like to wish in this regard?

A.A.: First of all – good luck! And, of course, try to avoid the mistakes made at the start of Lada Iskra sales. I believe it’s no secret to anyone that the Iskra’s launch turned out to be quite botched, when buyers, even after sales began, could not find the heavily advertised new model in showrooms for a long time. It turns out the advertising steam went into the whistle. I would very much like this shortcoming to be taken into account when Azimut sales begin.