The fifth package of sanctions, adopted by the EU on April 8, could worsen the situation of car factories in Russia. The ban concerns the supply of European paint materials (LKM), which represent approximately 50% of the Russian market. On the one hand, in the Russian Federation there is a replacement for most imported paints, but on the other it will be very difficult to switch to other materials.
The fact is that, as a rule, the equipment is designed to work with the products of a particular supplier, Kommersant reports, citing its own sources at car manufacturers. A specific European paint cannot be substituted for a comparable Chinese one and rest assured that it will withstand the required thickness and quality of body painting.
In 2018, the publication reported that in the Russian Federation there are no whole classes of raw materials and pigments (they are also subject to current sanctions) – especially for aliphatic polyurethane paints used to paint white cars; they are the only coating that does not yellow under UV light. In addition, coatings have a limited shelf life, which means that stocks in the factories are reduced, even if production is not functioning, but is at a standstill.
Similar difficulties await the body repair: the existing stocks will either be exhausted or disappear, and there will be no place to order new ones, because the suppliers for specific car models are the same as for the conveyor of the corresponding brand. Experts believe it is still possible to replace European coating suppliers, but the process will take a long time and will most likely involve expensive re-equipment of production facilities.
- Questions also arise about the supply of parts for assembling cars on Russian conveyors, but at least in this situation there is a theoretical list of supplier countries.
- “Driving” can be read in Viber.