UAZ plans to sell is Patriot SUV under the Bremach Taos brand in the US. It will be sold by a branch of Italian Company Bremach, which specializes in AWD special cars. Patriot is being upgraded to meet the standards required on US public roads.
Assembly is planned to be performed in California. The base cost of the SUV is expected to be about US$ 26,000. US modifications of the car will include an automatic transmission and 4-cylinder of 2.7 liter and 150hp. It will have 5-year general warranty and 10-year warranty on engine.
Bremax is already started accepting orders for the Russian SUV with a cash advance. The company also intends to introduce a UAZ Pickup to the US market (Bremach Brio). Its cost will be almost US$ 28,000.
PSR Analysis: In Russia, the UAZ Patriot costs about half the price, about US$ 13K. This car is famous for its excellent off-road qualities (compared to Mercedes Unimog), general reliability, and low cost of ownership. However, there are many complaints about the lack of comfort, low on-highway speed and stability, and a large number of minor defects.
People say that “UAZ is always wounded but never killed”. Hopefully, its Italian partner can improve the assembly quality of the car, based on its generous mark-up. In this case, the project has a good chance for success, similar to Russian Ural bikes, which are in good demand in the USA. PSR
Maxim Sakov is the Market Consultant – Russia Operations for Power Systems Research
