A view shows a car under the Soviet-era brand Moskvich during a ceremony marking the launch of the production at the Moscow Automobile Factory Moskvich in Moscow, Russia, November 23, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaReuters
By Gleb Stolyarov and Alexander Marrow
MOSCOW (Reuters) -After a two-decade hiatus, Russia on Wednesday launched production of the Moskvich car brand at a plant near Moscow given up by the French carmaker Renault, with a new, modern Chinese design that barely resembles the Soviet-era classic.
While the last Moskvich (“Muscovite”) was a basic three-box saloon or pedestrian hatchback, the Moskvich 3 is a muscular-looking petrol-powered crossover hatchback with alloy wheels, LED slit-headlights and a large central touchscreen display.
In fact, the car looks identical to the Sehol X4 compact crossover made by China’s JAC, also known as the JAC JS4.
Sources told Reuters that JAC’s design, engineering and platform were being used, with parts being delivered from China, and the vehicles shown at the launch displayed numerous JAC stickers bearing part codes.
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However, Maxim Klyushkin, the plant’s project manager, declined to confirm that the Chinese firm was Moskvich’s partner.
“We have (Russian truck maker) Kamaz as an external partner and we have a long-distance partner we are working with,” he said. “We are not naming that partner.”
Klyushkin said the car would have an anti-lock braking system (ABS), one of the features that Russia’s A
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