The issue of import substitution is more pressing than ever, including in the military sector. So even in the military vehicle Typhoon, made on the basis of KAMAZ, there are many foreign components: an imported gearbox, Michelin tires, etc. How Western sanctions have affected the economy and what is planned in the automotive industry, said in a long interview with RT Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov.
Recently, the government has held a series of meetings with major car manufacturers. After all, the most important car parts stopped coming to our assembly plants and this became a serious challenge for everyone, the official said.
Although the proportion of foreign components is generally not homogeneous, like the entire industry, the automotive industry is undergoing major structural changes. Now working with new suppliers, opening new logistics corridors – everything is being done to ensure the stable operation of the industry in the future.
But all this will not happen immediately, and the pace of production will be lost for some time, car manufacturers will have to switch to the production of slightly outdated models that are easier to operate.
“Let’s say, somewhere they will switch from automatic to manual transmissions, somewhere they will sacrifice already known services. But this is a forced measure that will not seriously affect the consumer characteristics of cars. And gradually they will return to the production of those models, the production of which has already been established today.
For example, KAMAZ is working on 100% localization of the production of the K-5 cabin. Once this happens, our trucks will push the Volvo and Mercedes analogues out of the market.
Not everyone
The Deputy Prime Minister also noted that the government understands that we “don’t live on the moon” and still cannot escape the global division of labor, no one is going to do this. But the world is not limited to just America and European countries that have imposed severe sanctions, there are other countries that have not supported them. Among them are the largest BRICS countries: China, India, Brazil, the countries of the Arab world.
A picture: Depositphotos