Lada, the brand owned by Russian state-owned company AvtoVAZ, says it has launched online car sales at the manufacturer’s cost price.

It says that online sales being available at cost price means that there will be savings of up to 40,000 rubles (around £300, or $400).

Customers will have to make an obligatory prepayment of 10,000 rubles (£83, or $100) which will reserve a car for six days.

They will also be able to access “favourable” credit rates of around 11% at Auto Finance Bank.

The deal and further car purchase under the new program is offered in one of the dealer centres named “Tsentralnaya STO”.

The Lada Granta car in standard trim level and the sports ‘drive active’ variant are currently displayed in the online store at the manufacturer cost price.

New light vehicle sales in Russia increased by 131.5% in August this year according to Russian industry sources (111,272 units). In the first eight months of the year sales were up by 29.5% to 610,651 units, according to the Association of European Businesses (AEB). While Western brands sales in Russia have plummeted due to Ukraine-related trade sanctions, Chinese brand sales have soared as they have filled the market gap.

Alexey Kalitsev, Chairman of the Automobile Manufacturers Committee, said: “The volume of the Russian market for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in August 2023, including alternative imports, exceeded 110,000 vehicles for the first time in a year and a half, which is a clear sign of its recovery, and confirms our forecast of 1 million sold vehicles by the end of the year.”

Earlier this year President Vladimir Putin called on Russian officials to stop using foreign-made cars, in favour of domestic brands, the state-run news agency TASS reported.

“All of our officials are wonderful, [but] they should understand that we need to strive for the development of domestic car brands and other domestic products,” Putin said.

Lada is Russia’s biggest-selling car brand.