Lada Nadezhda

The Lada Nadezhda, also known by its index VAZ-2120, was a seven-person four-wheel-drive minivan built by AvtoVAZ in Tolyatti between 1998 and 2006. It was the first minivan produced by the Russian auto industry and was based on the VAZ-2131 Niva sport utility vehicle. It was shown to the public at the 1997 Moscow Auto Show. Built in small numbers by the company's Pilot Industrial Production subsidiary, it could not be sold at a competitive price and did not sell well: annual output peaked near 1,500 units and about 8,000 were built before it was cancelled in August 2006. Variants included a delivery van, a pick-up, a mobile workshop, an office-on-wheels version and a taxi. Plans for a rear-wheel-drive version did not come to anything.