Volvo factory
Swedish Volvo’s automobile factory in the Kaluga region, which was transferred to the management of a Russian investor, will restart production in 2023. The business will reach full capacity in 2024. reported Head of the region Vladislav Shapsha during a live broadcast on the VKontakte social network.
“Volvo has found a new owner. This is our Russian initiative and the documents have already been signed. <…> I know there are already plans to restart the business this year. It will reach full capacity next year,” Shapsha said.
According to the governor of the Kaluga region, next week he will hold a meeting with the new head of this plant to discuss further work. Shapsha promised to talk about specific production plans and implementation deadlines following this meeting.
According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Alexey Sannikov became general director of the Volvo car plant in Kaluga on September 7. As of the end of 2021, he was on the board of directors of entrepreneur Igor Kim’s private Russian Expobank.
Volkswagen and Peugeot
As the regional president said, the owner of the German automobile brand Volkswagen factory changed this year. Regional authorities are working to restart this business with both its owner and Chinese partners. In addition, interaction is being established with the new owner of the facility, French automobile manufacturer Peugeot.
“There is only one expectation: All factories will be operational and start operating according to their own profiles, without changing the type of activity,” Shapsha emphasized.
In February this year, Shapsha said 2023 was a turning point for the resumption of car production in the region. The regional president later gave no further details.
Latest news
St. in July On the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), the governor of Kaluga answered a question about plans to produce the first cars at the Volkswagen plant in Kaluga after the change of ownership.
“We expect to start working with a new partner this year. <…> “This is the launch of the first products in the form of assembly so far and the launch of technological processes, because to start producing any car you need to rebuild the processes,” Shapsha said in response to the question. It is wondered whether new cars will be assembled at the Volkswagen plant this year.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade announced on September 8 that the assets of the Volvo car manufacturer in Russia were transferred to a Russian investor. As Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov emphasized, the agreement on the transfer of Volvo assets in Russia did not include a buyback option. It is known that the new owner will restart production at the plant in Kaluga with the participation of a domestic partner.
The last confirmed news regarding Peugeot’s (and also Opel and Citroen’s) car plant in Kaluga came in April 2022. Later, automaker Stellantis announced that this initiative was stopped. Reasons cited included an increasing number of cross-sanctions and logistical challenges.
Volkswagen, Volvo and PSMA Rus (joint venture between Stellantis and Mitsubishi) are located in the Kaluga region. Neither Stellantis nor Mitsubishi as of July 2023 didn’t Statements about the future of its factories in Russia.