In the context of U.S. dominance on the modern political and economic arena most important condition for the further development of Russian industry is a shift to a policy of import substitution and development of its own research and production base. Among key domestic industries experiencing economic dependence on imported components, is the automotive industry. This paper analyses strategic goals of the Russian automotive industry development and investigates the activities made to localize the production of key automotive components at JSC "AvtoVAZ". Key characteristics of the interaction of "AvtoVAZ" with component suppliers are laid out. An assessment of results of international cooperation of "AvtoVAZ" with the alliance "Renault-Nissan" is made, and an outlook of import-substituting cooperation for the project to develop a new car Lada Vesta is presented.