Moscow Mayor, as reported by RIA Novosti, announced that as early as next week at Moscow-based Moskvich plant will start assembling cars. Sergey Sobyanin expressed the hope that next year the company will assemble as many cars as Renault assembled in Moscow before it left the Russian market.
In addition, Moscow Mayor said that in two or three years it is planned to start producing and own platform of Russian cars. Recall that many foreign automakers left Russia after the start of the special military operation in protest, there were far fewer investors from abroad. All this, of course, reduced the volume of production for a period, especially in the industrial sector.
Meanwhile, the mass withdrawal of foreign companies from Russia was in many ways a catalyst that spurred the Russian industry, and as a result, domestic companies began to occupy the vacated niches. According to RIA Novosti, the automobile industry is the only problematic sector.
As known, the French company Renault has owned the plant in Moscow since 1998. In March of this year, the car concern announced that it was leaving the Russian market, and later it handed over its enterprise, Renault Russia, to the Moscow government. Restarting such a complex production is quite problematic. The enterprise's production lines were idle. The Moscow government looked for different options. It was decided to change the company's name to Moskvich [which means Muscovite in Russian.]
Due to the fact that the plant was given such a name as Moskvich, many car enthusiasts thought that old models would be produced here. However, this is not the case. Sergey Sobyanin said that it is almost impossible to make a domestic car from scratch. Therefore, according to the Moscow Mayor, the revived plant Moskvich will need partners from abroad. This was announced, as reported by TASS, during the superfinal of the Leaders of Russia competition of managers at the end of May this year.
Meanwhile, Rosstandart reported that the plant has already certified two models of crossovers. Moskvich-3 is a version of the Chinese car JAC JS4. This model will be equipped with gasoline engines, which will have a capacity of 109 and 150 horsepower.
The company plans to produce four crossovers, including one electric, as well as a sedan. Moreover, Moskvich is going to open 40 dealerships in 23 large Russian cities. KamAZ will be the company's main partner.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade specified that the French concern transferred its stake in the plant to Renault Russia directly to the Moscow government, and 68% of the plant is owned by the Central Scientific Research Automobile and Automotive Institute NAMI, but there will be an option to buy it back. Renault admitted, as the media reported, that the withdrawal from the Russian market was very painful, but necessary.
Now, we are witnessing that the automotive industry in Moscow is getting a second wind, and very soon Russians will be able to buy modern models of passenger cars. This is currently more relevant than ever, as spare parts for foreign cars are becoming more and more difficult to buy, and their prices have also risen considerably.
Now we are witnessing that the automotive industry in Moscow is finding a new lease of life, and very soon Russians will be able to buy modern models of passenger cars. This is currently more relevant than ever, as spare parts for foreign cars are becoming more and more difficult to buy, and their prices have also risen considerably.