Russia: Assembly of Electric GAZelle LCVs Started in Germany

Sales of electric version of GAZelle Next LCV have begun in Germany. Stuttgart company EFA-S is modifying Russian vehicles. The assembly started this year.

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

The German company purchases LCVs in Russia without transmission, engine and fuel system. Then in Stuttgart they install an electric motor and battery.

Currently, four versions of the electric vehicle are available – a side truck, a wagon, a 2-cabin wagon and a mini-bus. All LCVs are powered by a 110 kWt electric motor and can reach a speed of 88 km/hour.   

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Russia: KAMAZ Tests Driverless Trucks in Arctic

KAMAZ driverless trucks have been tested in the Eastern-Messoyakh oilfield in the Nenetsky region. The vehicles were driven 2,500 kilometers without accidents.

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

The joint project of Gazpromneft and KAMAZ was put together with support of region authorities in difficult climate conditions beyond the Polar Circle. The main target of tests was to determine the efficiency of driverless trucks, which would increase safety of cargo transportation and optimize supplies to territories with difficult access.

During the tests, the driverless trucks showed high potential to move on pre-set routes with high accuracy, to exchange information via duplicated communication systems, to recognize obstacles and forecast movements on actual environment.

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Russia Automakers To Receive Special Credits

Twelve automakers in Russia are counting on privileged credits for working capital support of backbone enterprises during the COVID struggle.

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

Under the program, a company must have revenue of  US$300 million (20 billion rubles) and employ more than 1000 people. A special bank product has been designed for such companies. The bank interest on this credit will be subsidized within the base interest rate of Russian Central Bank, and half of the credit will be warranted by the Ministry of Finances.    Read The Article

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Russia New Car Sales Drop 70% in April

New car sales plummeted by 102,000 vehicles in April, the largest monthly car sales decline in history in Russian, according to the Association of European Business.

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

During April, Russia introduced strict quarantine measures because of the coronavirus, causing car sales to fall by 102,089 units, or 72.4%.

After strong sales in March, dealers have had to suspend or restrict their activity.

“Black April” has dealt a strong blow to dealer cash liquidity, and seriously affected stability during middle-term period. The dealers are preparing to restart their business in May; however, they don’t expect significant sales growth.

AutoVAZ , the largest Russian car manufacturer, reported sales declined by three times in April over March.

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Coronavirus Has Major Impact on Global Production of Off-Highway Equipment and Medium & Heavy-Duty Vehicles

Download Your PDF Copy of the Presentation

ST. PAUL, MN–A team of international analysts from Power Systems Research (PSR) analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on the global production of Off-Highway Equipment and MH-Duty Vehicles in several regions today.

The team examined the impact of the coronavirus in North America, Europe, Asia, India, and South America for the remainder of 2020 and into Q1 2021.  Download your copy of the presentation here.

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RUSSIA REPORT, March 2020

This report includes updates on these manufacturers: Haval, Claas, Aurus, and KAMAZ.

Haval To Build Engine Plant in Russia

This article first appeared in the March 2020 issue of PowerTALK™ News

Haval, the Chinese manufacturer, said it plans to build its own engine plant in the Tula region of Russia. Work is scheduled start this month (March 2020). The planned investment in the project is US$ 270 million. This information comes from press-service of Haval Motor Rus.

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

It’s expected that the new plant will produce 80,000 engines annually, increasing the localization level of SUVs by several thousand units annually. Total personnel number in automotive plant exceeds 1000 people.    Read The Article

PSR Analysis: The first Russian Haval plant opened in May of 2019. Current production capacity is 80 Haval SUVs. The plant will be located on a 10,000 sq.m. site next to the Haval automotive plant. It will provide more than 300 jobs.

Claas is Shifts Production of Tucano 320 Harvester To Russia.

In April 2020, Russian plant Claas in Krasnodar will start producing the Tucano 320 grain combine. During the first two years, this model will be produced simultaneously in Germany and in Russia. Beginning in 2022, the plant in Krasnodar will became the sole maker for this model. The move opens opportunities to increase production and export volumes for the Russian plant.

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Moscow Boat Show 2020 Much Different than Previous Years

MOSCOW–The Moscow Boat Show conducted here March 5-9 in the Crocus City Expo center occupied two exhibition halls with total square of 19,000 sq.m., but it was much different in several ways than previous shows.

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

The number of boats shown was 30% less than during last year’s event. And the organizers of the show left a lot of empty space even in the dedicated halls. This looked strange because often there were only narrow passages between boats.

Surprisingly, more than 50% of the boats at the fair were produced domestically. Jeanneau, Beneteau and some other brands were also here, brought by a local dealer, but in smaller sizes and numbers than last year’s show. Some EU and Turkish shipyards exhibited at the fair, but did not bring anything besides marketing materials.

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KAMAZ Patents Electric Truck Without Cab

This article initially appeared in the February 2020 issue of PowerTALK News.

This truck has a very unusual design. The database of Rospatent has shown drawings of a cabless truck with an electric motor. The patent owner is KAMAZ. The truck has a very unusual appearance because it doesn’t have a cabin – it’s a box on wheels with low clearance, and it features round head and rear lights, and a vent grid. No details are available about the motor, except that it’s electric.

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

The truck looks somewhat like the Volvo Vera truck.

Last year, KAMAZ started testing a driverless truck developed for coal transportation in one of Kuzbass mines. It is equipped with cruise-control and a system for bypassing obstacles and making lane changes.    

Read the Article

PSR Analysis: The future is next door. Of course, it’s a long way from the patent to the working vehicle, but the trend is clear. KAMAZ has concentrated technologies for creation of a driverless electric truck and has patented them. PSR

Opel Bets on Russia

This article initially appeared in the February 2020 issue of PowerTALK News.

Opel is back in Russia, and the company appears to be betting the Russian market can provide a significant opportunity for business diversification.

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

In 2019, company sales declined as the business was reorganized, and Opel cut its model portfolio.

According to reports, 96% of Opel sales are concentrated in Europe. This fact has determined a focus point for sales increase. In 2022, Opel expects to be in 20 new export markets. After 20 years of financial losses, the very first year within the Peugeot SA structure was quite profitable for Opel (plus 859 million Euro for 2018).

Meanwhile, the Russian PSA plant in Kaluga has begun final preparations for production of Zafira Life and Vivaro minivans.    

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PSR Analysis: It appears that Opel has decided to start with minivans in the Russian market, and it is targeting the LCV niche where the chances for success are better than in passenger cars. While individual consumer demand is declining for LCVs, the companies making the vehicles locally can receive State and municipal orders for vehicles.

Last year, the State placed big orders for ambulances and school buses, sharing the orders between the GAZ Group and other local OEMs. At the same time, new models of passenger cars produced abroad, like Opel Crossland X, did not post good sales in the Russian market. PSR

Maxim Sakov is a Market Consultant in Russia for Power Systems Research

Innovation Was the Name of the Game at Agritechnica 2019

HANNOVER, Germany–For many years, Agritechnica has been growing and strengthening its role as the top European agricultural trade show. Despite the struggles that the industry is facing, with declining order books and a less than enthusiastic outlook for 2020, Agritechnica 2019 held here Nov. 11-16, 2019, reaffirmed its position as the most important ag tech event in Europe.  The show reported 2,820 exhibitors and 450,000 visitors, more than 130,000 of them from outside Germany.

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