VAZ-2123 (1998–2002) The VAZ-2123 was developed as a 5-door CUV, riding on a wheelbase – the exact middle of the original Lada Niva (Legend) wheelbases of and . Although the body and the interiors are all new, it is still based on the old VAZ 2121 engine, transmission and most mechanicals. The Niva rebadging featured a touched-up body, and the 1.7-litre gasoline engine has
fuel injection. In 2003, the car was awarded zero stars out of a possible four by the Russian
ARCAP safety assessment program. File:Нива Ваз 2123 1.JPG|VAZ-2123 (1998–2002) File:VAZ 2123.jpg|VAZ-2123 2-door Pick-Up concept
Chevrolet Niva (2003–2020) In 2002, an agreement was signed with the American company General Motors to establish serial production of the model and a joint venture GM-AVTOVAZ was created: the license for the VAZ-2123 model and the rights to the Niva brand were transferred to a joint venture (while the first generation Niva was marketed as the "Lada 4×4" from 2006 until 2021). An export version with reinforced bodyshell, 1.8-litre Opel
Ecotec Family 1 gasoline engine, and
Aisin four-wheel drive was under consideration since 2003. Although most of the engineering work was completed, the release was repeatedly postponed. Although GM-AvtoVAZ considered building a new engine plant for the local production of Ecotec engines, in July 2005 it was announced that the project was cancelled, along with plans for the long-anticipated "export" Niva. However, the project was revived in autumn 2006 and the "Niva FAM1" was introduced as a new trim level for the 2007 model year. The price was much higher than the standard trim, which led to slow sales and the discontinuation of this model in April 2008. Another reason was the ceasing of Ecotec engine production at the Hungarian plant. In 2009, the model got a minor update, featuring a slight restyling, done by
Bertone studio and some minor-changes. The GLS and GLC version also comes with improved safety, such as
ABS and dual front
airbags. File:Chevrolet Niva Silver.jpg|Chevrolet Niva (2003–2009) File:Chevrolet Niva 2012.JPG|Chevrolet Niva (2009–2020) File:Niva2123RCN2.jpg|Chevrolet Niva (2009–2020) File:Chevrolet Niva cockpit 01.JPG|Chevrolet Niva Interior File:Шевроле-Нива двигатель ф2.jpg|Chevrolet Niva 1.7 Injection engine File:Chevrolet Niva FAM-1 - engine.jpg|Chevrolet Niva FAM-1
Lada Niva / Lada Niva Travel (2020–present) In August 2020 Lada took over production of the Chevrolet Niva, rebranding it as the Lada Niva. In December 2020, following a new generation of the car, the new
Lada Niva was further rebranded as
Lada Niva Travel, while the old
Niva 4x4 was rebranded as
Lada Niva Legend in January 2021. For 2026 AvtoVAZ announced Niva Travel getting a facelift and a 1.8 option, also an electric concept Lada e-Niva was shown. File:Lada Niva 2020.jpg|Lada Niva (2020) File:2023 Lada Niva Travel grey front.jpg|Lada Niva Travel (2021 – present) File:2024 Lada Niva Travel black rear.jpg|Lada Niva Travel (rear view) == Concept Cars ==