Russia's largest carmaker, AvtoVAZ, famed for its Lada cars, has appointed a new chief executive from Renault subsidiary Dacia as it seeks to recover from heavy losses last year.

Nicolas Maure has spent over two years as CEO of Dacia, the Romanian low-cost arm of Renault, which along with Nissan holds a majority stake in the holding company that controls AvtoVAZ. Maure replaces Bo Andersson, whose departure from AvtoVAZ was announced last week after the company lost around $1 billion in 2015 as the Russian car market contracted sharply.

Maure will continue a modernization program begun by Andersson "despite the short-term challenges" when he takes over April 4, Renault-Nissan alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn said, adding that the alliance remains "bullish about the long-term future of the Russian market and AvtoVAZ."