Automobile plant “Moskvich” began assembling Chinese cars

The Moscow Automobile Plant “Moskvich” (former Renault Russia) has begun serial SKD assembly of cars. This was announced on November 23 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Moskvich’s technology partner, the company “Kamaz“.

The first model put on the conveyor after the resumption of the work of the plant was Moskvich 3. This is a compact crossover equipped with a 1.5 liter petrol turbo engine with 150 hp. The appearance of the novelty and its technical characteristics completely repeat the Chinese crossover JAC JS4.

The origin of the car is also confirmed by the data of Rosstandart, according to which the Moskvich 3 and its electric version, the Moskvich 3e, are variants of the Chinese JAC JS4 and iEVS4, respectively. The likelihood of using the Chinese model as the basis for assembly in Moscow has also been repeatedly mentioned earlier by Vedomosti sources.

In the next two years, the production of Moskviches will be based on the SKD technology with a gradual increase in the share of localization, Kamaz said in a statement. As planned, the first Muscovites will roll off the assembly line in December 2022, in total, 600 cars will be assembled at the plant by the end of this year – 400 cars with a gasoline engine and 200 electric cars. They will be available to buyers in Moscow and the Central Federal District from December, and in the rest of the country from spring 2023.

The further production plan also remained unchanged: in 2023, 50,000 cars will be assembled by the SKD method, 10,000 of which will be with an electric motor, in 2024 – 100,000 cars, of which 20,000 will be electric cars. Half of the volume of 2024 is expected to be assembled through the full cycle, including welding and painting.

“The task for the near future is to establish small-scale assembly processes with the involvement of local suppliers by the end of 2023. The next step will be the creation of our own universal platform for the domestic electric vehicle, the start of production of which is scheduled for the end of 2025,” said the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Industry and trade Denis Manturov (quote from TASS).

The development of the Kama startup, owned by Kamaz CEO Sergey Kogogin and businessman Ruben Vardanyan, was considered as one of the foundations for their own universal electric vehicle platform (Vedomosti). wrote about it on July 20). The final decision at that time had not yet been made, said a Vedomosti source in the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

As Manturov explained,Kamaz” in the near future may expand its special investment contract (SPIC) to include Moskvich. This will allow the plant’s products to qualify for participation in government demand support measures – preferential car loans and leasing programs. Manturov noted that technological independence in the production of Moskvich will be achieved by 2027.

Now all the equipment at Moskvich is already imported, inherited from Renault, says Sergey Burgazliev, an independent automotive industry consultant. According to him, the wording “technological independence” is quite flexible, and can assume quite a lot. The expert believes that Moskvich will most likely enter the SPIC of Kamaz in the near future, and the investment agreements for the automotive industry themselves will be revised due to the departure of many market players. However, any expression of intention to deepen localization for the Russian auto industry is a plus, he believes.