Kaliningrad plant “Avtotor” February 19 announced announced the start of production of the A5 electric sedan under the new Amberauto brand in cooperation with a foreign partner and published the first photo of the car.
A sedan with a length of 4675 mm with a declared power reserve of 520 km and a 160-horsepower electric motor turned out to be like two peas in a pod JMEV GSE.
With Renault genes
The JMEV brand was established by China’s Jiangling Motors Corporation Group and China Agricultural Development Construction Fund Corporation. In 2019, Renault entered the capital of JMEV, acquiring a majority stake (50%) Block of shares of a business from China.
Under the name JMEV Yi and Mobilize Limo, the French company is introducing this sedan to the European market as a car for professional use in taxis and carpooling. The electric car earned four out of a possible five stars in the EuroNCAP crash test in 2022.
Deep localization is planned for Amberauto A5 in Kaliningrad. According to Avtotor’s statement, in 2024-2025 the car will be equipped with electric motors and inverters (voltage converters)gearboxes, electronic systems and other components marked “Made in Russia”.
Avtotor for the production of trucks and pickups was created Another brand is Ambertruck. In this context, the facility produced two models of trucks with a gross weight between 3.5 and 12 tons, as well as a pickup truck.
“Avtotor” did not report the origin of the cars, but the website “Auto Mail.Ru” I learned Dealers in the Kaliningrad region said they were keeping the JMC pickups and trucks for which the new brand had been announced to begin production announced In August 2023.
evolve
To produce cars of the Chinese company Dongfeng and its affiliated brands, the Russian company Motorinvest established its own umbrella brand Evolute in 2022. Production of cars of this brand was launched at a plant in the Lipetsk region within the framework of a special investment agreement (SPIC) signed by Motorinvest with the government of the Russian Federation. SPIC provides concessions to automakers in the form of refunds of recycling fees and other benefits in exchange for their obligations to localize vehicles.
Currently, the i-Pro sedan and three crossovers are sold in the Russian market under the Evolute brand: i-Joy, i-Sky and i-Space.
The latest product from this brand is the seven-seat crossover i-Space, known as the Fengon Landian E5 in China.
This car is available in hybrid and fully electric versions. In the maximum configuration with a seven-seater cabin, it is offered to Chinese buyers for 154 thousand yuan (about 2 million rubles). The price of Evolute i-Space in the Russian market starts from 3.9 million rubles.
The Forthing T5 Evo crossover, the “twin” of the Russian Evolute i-Sky, has been in production since 2021. Forthing brand is also owned by Dongfeng Corporation.
In the domestic market, the car is also offered with a gasoline engine, but the Russian i-Sky is only an electric version of the Forthing Tunder.
The cost of this crossover in our country is almost 4 million rubles. and this takes into account the state subsidy of 925 thousand rubles. In China, the Forthing Thunder electric car began to be sold in spring 2023 at a price of 130-230 thousand yuan (1.7-2.9 million rubles).
Sollers
After Ford’s departure, the Sollers company began production of Atlant vans and Argo light trucks in Russia under its own Sollers brand, based on Chinese JAC equipment. It also received the right to make changes to the design of the machines under the license agreement.
Sollers Atlant minibus is a JAC Sunray of the previous generation: an updated family of vehicles is currently produced in China.
In the Russian version of the car, the manufacturer has already improved welding and painting technologies, introduced reinforced springs and installed some domestic components in the cars, such as tires and batteries. At the first stage, these machines were assembled using “screwdriver” technology (when components completely ready for assembly are delivered to the assembly site by the manufacturer).
“Between 2024-2025, Sollers plans to organize stamping production of body parts using entirely Russian metal for the Atlant and Argo models and to launch the production of passive safety system components critical for the automotive industry,” Sollers press service told Gazeta. .Ru…
The company noted that today the Sollers group’s factories in Elabuga and Ulyanovsk produce Sollers Atlant and Sollers Argo cars using full-cycle technology, including welding and painting of bodies.
The previous generation JAC T6 pickup truck left the Russian market after the assembly of such vehicles under the Sollers brand began at the factory in Vladivostok. The car is available in the Russian market with a gasoline engine and a diesel engine; deeper localization is planned.
They plan to install an engine and gearbox on the pickup truck, the production of which will be organized at factories in the European part of Russia. Funds from the State Industrial Development Fund have already been allocated for the localization of the units.
at KamAZ
The pedigree of the Chinese JAC N Series can also be traced in the Compass series of light and medium-duty trucks produced by KamAZ.
The original faired cabs of these trucks were welded and painted at the former joint venture with Daimler, where the Japanese Fuso trucks were assembled. The engines, transmissions and axles of these cars are made in China. reported “Automatic review” publication.
Chinese JAC is in great demand among Russian manufacturers, the model range of the revived Moskvich consists of cars of this Chinese brand.
Walday
In September 2023, a new cargo brand Valdai appeared on the Russian market. The trucks were introduced at the Comtrans-2023 fair. There it was also learned that the Nizhny Novgorod Trucks company acquired the rights to the Valdai brand. The project is being carried out in partnership with Chinese brand Foton, its representatives said. In the first stage, a screwdriver assembly is provided for the family of light, medium and heavy-duty trucks.
The first Lada pancake
The Lada X-Cross 5 crossover, on which the FAW Bestune T77 is easily predicted, will arrive in St. It was solemnly presented at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Shortly thereafter, St. Petersburg came under the control of AvtoVAZ. Production of the new model has started at the former Nissan factory in St. Petersburg. However, free sales of the new model never started.
From Lada website in December 2023 disappeared this model was mentioned and released in January 2024 seen Information that the project has finally been closed.
Now again in the old Nissan factory affected It is planned to produce cars under the XCite brand, which was specially created under state control. A number of media and dedicated automotive Telegram channels reportedthat this brand hides the Chinese crossovers Chery Tiggo 7 Pro.
Independent automotive industry consultant Sergei Burgazliev told socialbites.ca: For a factory that assembles cars of various Chinese brands, the creation and development of its own brand seems justified:
“If the original brand of the assembled car is unknown in Russia, it is strategically correct for Avtotor to invest in the creation and development of its own brand. Even though he doesn’t have a driver’s license, he only buys car kits.”
The expert added that the supplier may change, but the brand for which marketing investments were made will remain and can be used in the cars of other suppliers that may be present at the facility. From a consumer perspective, selling a car under a domestic brand does not have a significant impact on the success of that car if the original Chinese brand is not known in our country.
“The mechanism by which Sollers works is the purchase of licenses. They not only buy car kits, but also have technological, service and design documentation. From this perspective, the company is in a more advantageous position than if it only purchased tool kits,” Burgazliev concluded.