Tag Archives: Russia

News

Russians produce Citroen C5 Aircross without Stellantis approval

During 2022, most manufacturers stopped production of their cars in plants located in Russia, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, according to the latest information, the Russians have found a way to continue the production of some models, such as the Citroen C5 Aircross, in the Stellantis plant with parts manufactured in China.

The Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng Motor Group, Stellantis’ partner in China, supplied parts to the Russian company Automotive Technologies, which began assembling the Citroen C5 Aircross. This is not the first time that Chinese companies violate agreements with other manufacturers, and this time the reason could be the agreement that Stellantis reached with another Chinese company (Leapmotor).

Customs records do not indicate that Stellantis knew about the imports, but evidence obtained by other companies shows a lack of control over their brands in Russia after leaving the country. The Chinese company Dongfeng, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and Automotive Technologies did not comment on this case.

How Stellantis will respond to this cheeky move by Chinese and Russian companies remains to be seen.

Russia is taking advantage of the current situation to continue producing cars in factories abandoned by their owners through parallel imports. Stellantis and Mitsubishi Motors in Russia own a plant in Kaluga (70% + 30%) where 125,000 vehicles were produced annually. Leaving Russia had a negative impact on Stellantis Group, with a loss of EUR 144 million plus and EUR 87 million in cash.

Source: Reuters

News

Attempt failed, driver survived

In the past, we have seen different situations where some have tried to do the almost impossible with cars, like the Top Gear team that tried to destroy a Toyota Hilux 12 years ago. A similar failed attempt took place in Russia where a famous Russian stuntman from a Lada Niva tried to jump from one building roof to another.

The Top Gear team placed the car on top of a building that was being prepared for demolition. After the controlled explosion and demolition of the 23-story building, Toyota Hilux was smashed and bashed almost beyond recognition. However, using basic tools, the mechanic succeeded and started the engine. Unbelievable.

Well, the Russian team was not so successful in their attempt. Their crazy attempt with a driver in a car, unlike the Top Gear crew, did not go as well as they had hoped. Evgeny Chebotarev and his team were too ambitious. The car was not powerful enough to reach the required speed in a short distance, so instead of landing on another building, the Lada hit a wall and fell from the top of the three-story building to the ground. After the fall, the car looked destroyed, luckily the driver was uninjured.

The attempt failed, the driver survived.

Source: NewsX Russia Today via YouTube

News

BMW suspends operations in Russia

BMW suspends operations in Russia. The news comes after other carmakers like Ford, Volkswagen, GM did the same. This decision refers to the delivery of vehicles to the Russian market, but also to the cessation of production in Kaliningrad.

“We condemn the aggression against Ukraine and follow further developments with great concern and horror. Due to the current geopolitical situation, we are stopping local production and exports to the Russian market until the next decision,” a BMW spokesman said.

Russia is a growing market for BMW, which in partnership with Avtotor, assembles cars for the Russian market in a joint factory. Also, BMW has subcontractors in Ukraine from whom it gets some car parts. In 2021, about 12,000 cars were assembled, while about 47,000 BMWs were exported to Russia.

The company announced that due to the current situation and the difficult supply of parts, it is suspending work in Russia. BMW’s business is not only affected in Russia but also in other countries, such as the UK, where BMW owns the British automotive marque Mini.

Volkswagen recently announced that it is suspending production in Dresden and Zwickau, also due to problems with the supply of electronic parts from Ukraine, where the company owns two factors.

Source: BMW