Page 148 - RusRPTSept22

9.2.2 Automotive corporate news
Russia’s largest carmaker AvtoVaz regained its top sales spot in the Russian capital last month for the first time in more than a decade, according to market researcher Autostat. The car market in Russia has been cleared of most competition after Western and Asian automakers suspended operations after the invasion of Ukraine or faced supply shortages because of Western sanctions. Autostat said in a report on Wednesday that Moscow residents bought 684 of AvtoVaz’s Lada vehicles in July — enough for the domestic carmaker to reclaim the top spot for the first time since 2009. The runners up were South Korea’s Kia and Hyundai as well as China’s Geely and Chery. Overall car sales reached 5,078 in the Russian capital last month, Autostat said, down 74% compared with the same month last year. AvtoVaz’s nationwide sales totaled 85,000 between January and July, a 63% drop compared to the same period last year,
Volkswagen is looking to sell its car assembly plant in the Russian city of Kaluga and a Kazakh auto maker could be a potential purchaser, Russia's Vedomosti newspaper reported on July 27. Vedemosti, citing an unnamed source familiar with the company's intentions, said Volkswagen would finalise its plans for the facility by the end of the year.
Russian carmaker AvtoVaz has resumed production of Lada Granta 2022 line cars with airbags, the company said on August 24.
AvtoVaz began to produce its cars without airbags after imports of parts were stopped following the start of the war in Ukraine. As bne IntelliNews reported, car production came to a screeching halt in the first months of the war with total cars assembled falling to a mere 3,000 in June from the typical 100,000 that are produced a month. By July production picked up a little but remains at about 10% of the average as supply problems persist.
“AvtoVaz has resumed production of Lada Granta vehicles equipped with airbags for the driver and front passenger. The price of the basic version of Granta, equipped with a driver's airbag, starts from RUB602,800 ($10,000) under the state program of preferential lending, which is valid only until December 1, 2022 (or RUB753,500 at normal rates),” the statement said.
The Lada Granta and the 2022 Lada Niva Legend models are currently being produced in "simplified" versions and missing many of the standard accessories. However, various security systems are being reintroduced such as the Era-Glonass emergency warning system, which is based on the Russian GPS system. This feature has not been available since last September due not to sanctions, but a shortage of microchips that hit the whole industry.
148 RUSSIA Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com