AVTOVAZ's most mass-produced model, the Lada Granta, will receive an automatic transmission for the first time, for which AVTOVAZ literally had to redesign the car. The Lada Granta will be equipped with a WLY variator – the same one that is already installed on the more expensive Lada Vesta, said company head Maxim Sokolov.
To install the transmission, engineers had to change the body structure – the unit simply did not fit under the hood of the budget model.
The variator will only be combined with an 8-valve engine with a power of 90 hp. Such a tandem will allow it to operate in a gentle mode and provide a significant resource, close to the resource of the engine itself.
Engineers had to refine not only the mounts and layout, but also individual body panels. This is due to the fact that the Granta was originally designed for manual transmissions and more compact units.
The Lada Granta with a variator will go into production in the first half of 2027. AVTOVAZ still has to reconfigure production lines for the new transmission.