Page 149 - RusRPTSept22

Earlier, AvtoVaz announced plans to launch the production of cars with anti-lock braking system (ABS) from 2023. According to the head of the company Maxim Sokolov, after that ESP lateral stability system, which stabilises the vehicle when sharp turns and slopes, preventing him from skidding will be reintroduced.
Kommersant found out that the Mercedes-Benz plant in Veshki near Moscow, opened in 2019 (with great solemnity), has almost been sold.
The buyer is almost certainly one of the largest Russian car dealers. Several sources of the newspaper confidently name Avtodom founded by Andrey Kostin, which is now controlled by the general director Andrey Olkhovsky. In any case, the company's office building in Veshki is for sale, sources in the real estate market confirmed.
The Russian office of Mercedes-Benz said that the company is “considering various options for doing business in Russia,” Avtodom declined to comment. However, back in July the dealer said that he was counting on a discount when entering new segments.
Olkhovsky himself spoke about the fact that Avtodom is specifically interested in industrial assembly last year, but without details. Kommersant believes that it was then about the assembly of electric vehicles, most likely Chinese ones. The company even has specialised experience: extreme wheeled all-terrain vehicles "Shaman" - Kostin's pet project.
The Ministry of Investments of the Moscow Region reported that they are in close contact with Mercedes and "the issue of the future fate of the plant is being discussed." What's next The plant in Veshki is a modern full-cycle production with 1000 employees, for which the Moscow Region has been fighting for a long time. Its cost was estimated at 300 million euros. Concluding a special investment contract, Mercedes-Benz was counting on tax incentives and government contracts in the long term, but military operations in Ukraine and sanctions that stopped production put an end to these plans.
Mercedes-Benz (which estimated the loss of the passenger car business in Russia in January-June at 658 million euros) did not recoup its investments in the plant. Therefore, it is possible that the contract will have a buyback option.
Further production of Mercedes cars at the plant is excluded, but the asset may be of interest to Chinese concerns localised in Russia, auto market experts told the publication. Moreover, the number of Russian sites developed and free from sanctions is limited - the Chinese Chery just for this reason refused to assemble Sollers at UAZ.
149 RUSSIA Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com