Laa is the trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Togliatti, (Samara Oblast or province). The name replaced the original Zhiguli brand, because of phonetic resemblance of Zhiguli to Gigolo, which hampered exports. Lada made its name in Western Europe selling the Lada Riva as an economy car in large quantities during the 1980s, but subsequent models have not enjoyed the same success.