These are automatic transmissions, modern engines and ABS systems
In the foreseeable future, it will be impossible in Russia to organize the production of a constellation of important automotive components such as automatic transmissions, modern engines, all-wheel drive systems and ABS. This was said in an interview with “Parlamentskaya Gazeta”, the head of AvtoVAZ – Maxim Sokolov, adding that the components in question are easier to buy from outside.
In response to a journalist’s question why Chinese manufacturers manage to sell cars and components in Russia better than local ones, Sokolov explained that it all depends on the financial model. According to him, the volume of the Chinese car market is about 25-30 million cars a year, plus the foreign market, so the prices there are lower.
The Russian car market is significantly smaller, so the prices of the same components and assemblies are tens of times higher, Sokolov continued. According to him, the price of Lada is rising “because it consists of assemblies that are produced only for the Russian automobile industry, unlike Chinese cars.” Components become more expensive, so it is impossible to reduce the price of the final product. The head of AvtoVAZ believes that it is possible to level the playing field by regulating the car market.
It is curious that the federal authorities do not share Maxim Sokolov’s opinion, local Russian media write. This week, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade promised that the import substitution program for the ABS system will be developed before the end of the year.
Sokolov also says: “There are quite a few closed markets with their own models or modified ones that used to belong to global car manufacturers. For example, the Iranian market, where they started with the production of Renault and Peugeot. But technologically, these products are several steps behind the products offered today in the international automotive industry, including AvtoVAZ products.”
