Tag Archives: Russia

News

BMW fired employees who illegally exported cars to Russia

After Russia invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago, the EU imposed sanctions, forcing European manufacturers to suspend operations in the country. However, a few days ago BMW fired the employees who were involved in the delivery of cars to Russia, because they violated the sanctions.

According to Business Insider, more than 100 premium cars were illegally delivered from Hanover to Russian customers, and BMW confirmed that measures were taken to prevent similar cases in the future. It is not known whether employees of other brands were involved in similar illegal operations.

Despite the sanctions, cars from German brands continue to appear in Russia. In August, ARD journalists discovered that new BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen cars can be purchased in Russia.

The BMW Group claims to continue the fight against these illegal deliveries.

Source: Business Insider

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