Sanctions forced Russia's most famous car-maker to stop fitting vehicles with airbags, report says

• Avtovaz, the Russian state maker of Lada cars, is suffering from sanctions over the Ukraine war.
• Avtovaz's latest model, the Lada Granta, does not have airbags, NBC said.

Russia's most famous car company was forced to produce vehicles with no airbags due to sanctions over the Ukraine war, NBC reported.

The state-owned manufacturer Avtovaz, which makes Lada cars, has not been able to import essential parts because of the sanctions.

As a result, it has been forced to make the latest batch of its Lada Granta cars with only local parts, NBC reported.

The four-door passenger car will no longer feature airbags, anti-lock braking systems, electronic stability control, or emergency retraction locks on seat belts, NBC reported.

Avtovaz did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

A Russian Federation decision on vehicle safety standards realeased in May makes no mention of airbags, and bases most of its requirements on those set by the United Nations.

Since 1997, the UN has called for minimum international standards in part to ensure that automakers do not sacrifice safety to save money on vehicles sold in less wealthy countries.

Ladas have been produced in Russia since Soviet times, and were an icon of its communist economy. They also had a reputation for being cheap, bulky, and unreliable.

After communism fell, Ladas kept rolling off the production line and remain a big part of the Russian auto market.

A press release by the company last week described the Granta model as "the most affordable new passenger car on the Russian market."

The press release said the car has improved "design and comfort" and features "electric power steering, front power windows ... and central locking." It did not mention safety features.

Jeffrey Edmonds, who served as the director for Russia on the National Security Council in the Obama administration, told NBC: "This definitely points toward a willingness on the Russian government's part to really sacrifice quality goods and safety in the name of this invasion."

"For domestic audiences and abroad, they do want to make it look as though the sanctions are not really having the impact they are actually having, and it's dependent on an almost survivalist mindset the Kremlin assumes the Russian people have," he added.

G7 finance ministers and central bank governors said in a statement earlier this year that Western sanctions would cause long-term damage to Russia's economy.

In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Western leaders limited trade, banned transactions with Russia's central bank, and restricted access to the international payments system SWIFT, among other measures.