"David P." <imbibe@mindspring.com> wrote:
> Where Are the Air Bags? Russia’s Hobbled Auto Industry Struggles to Reboot
> By Georgi Kantchev and Nick Kostov, Oct. 30, 2022, WSJ
>
> Western sanctions brought Russia’s car industry to a screeching halt
> earlier this year. As it restarts, it is emerging smaller,
> technologically backward and more isolated—a foreshadowing of what
> could be in store for the rest of the embattled Russian economy.
>
> Within weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, most Western car
> companies curtailed operations in the country. Sanctions cut off the
> supply of parts and, one after another, Russian car plants stopped
> production. By May, car production was down 97% compared with a year
> ago.
>
> Some Russian plants are now reopening, including under new, local
> management. Last month, AvtoVAZ, maker of the iconic Russian Lada
> brand, said it planned to make 500,000 vehicles next year. In 2021,
> the company sold nearly 400,000 cars.
>
> But the industry restart featured cars that were a far cry from prewar
> models, lacking air bags, anti-lock braking-system sensors or
> electronic stability-control technology, an industry standard.
[…]
> https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-auto-cars-lada-reboot-air-bags-11667141126

So they will target lower tech *cheap* *international* market segment,
won't they? It is not the path they would be eager to take
without "limited choice". Limited choice simplifies a lot of decisions.

Their failure is not sure, it is merely quite likely.
See AK-47 v. "more advanced alternatives".

--
A. Filip : Big (Tech) Brother is watching you.
| Life is a hospital in which every patient is possessed by the
| desire to change his bed. (Charles Baudelaire)