This, of course, refers to Mercedes-Benz’s Russian assets, including the right to supply cars and the company’s plant near Moscow.
The Chinese company BAIC, which works closely with Mercedes-Benz in its country, could become the owner of all this. This would allow Russia to get supplies of new cars close to the required quantity and allow the German concern to return safely to our market in the future.
“The most optimal solution would be to sell the Mercedes-Benz plant near Moscow to BAIC. In China, Mercedes-Benz has a joint venture with this automaker. In this case, it was possible to start production of Mercedes-Benz models of previous generations under the BAIC brand at a plant near Moscow. For example, the GLK crossover. With a cost of 3.5-4 million rubles, such a car would certainly be in demand, ”Burgazliev told Izvestia.
However, this requires that the intellectual property rights in previous Mercedes-Benz models be transferred to a Chinese manufacturer or joint venture that assembles Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
Why did they suddenly, instead of a Mercedes-Benz dealer, as a potential buyer of the company’s assets in Russia, suddenly start talking about a Chinese company? The fact is that yesterday the governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, announced the possibility of transferring the Mercedes-Benz plant near Moscow to the Chinese automaker.
“I really hope Mercedes comes back. If not, work is underway on the roster, which includes a Chinese automaker that is reliable and has a stable demand for its cars,” Vorobyev said on Sputnik radio.