Onward and upward: car production increased in Russia
At the end of last year, Russian automobile plants increased production of all types of vehicles by 16.5%. At the same time, the output of some types of vehicles increased, while others, on the contrary, began to be assembled less. The domestic automobile industry has a great potential for further growth, but the increase in output will largely depend on the overall situation in the market, experts say. Details - in the material of "Izvestia".
Auto industry is a driver of production
Last year Russian enterprises produced a total of 985.4 thousand vehicles. This is stated in the report of the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) on industrial production in 2024, published on the official website of the agency. This figure is 16.5% higher than the results of the year before last.
In particular, domestic car plants produced 756 thousand passenger cars - 39.2% more than a year earlier. The output of trucks increased by 8.2%, up to 194 thousand units. The situation in the bus segment is ambiguous: the assembly of models with GVW over 5 tons increased by 12.5%, up to 15.5 thousand units. On the contrary, the production of small buses (GVW up to 5 tons) decreased. They were produced 19.9 thousand units, which is 13.9% less than in the year before last.
AvtoVAZ became the leader in passenger car production, with 525.5 thousand cars rolled off its assembly lines last year. Among truck manufacturers, the first place is occupied by KamAZ, which produced 54.6 thousand units of commercial vehicles in 2024. In the bus segment, PAZ brand confidently holds the palm of supremacy. The company traditionally does not disclose the output volumes, however, according to the data of Avtostat analytical agency, more than 8 thousand Paziks were sold last year.
The analysis of Rosstat data showed that the automotive industry, along with other sectors (e.g., metal production, as well as the production of computers, electronic and optical products), is one of the drivers of the entire Russian industry.
- High indicators are provided, among other things, by the cumulative effect due to the accumulated rates in previous periods, as well as the traditional increase in production volumes by the end of the year, including in order to fulfill obligations under previously concluded contracts, - said the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
An important role for the development of the industry as a whole and for the production of vehicles in particular is played by the established system of cooperation of market participants, the ministry noted. Thanks to this, they can forecast the range of products and their volumes, which will be in demand in the long term, emphasized the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
New productions
Last year, several previously stopped car plants were restarted in Russia. Thus, the former Nissan plant near St. Petersburg began production of Xcite brand crossovers. In the Leningrad Region, AGR started production of Solaris cars at the end of last winter. In addition, in the fall Sollers launched truck production in Ulyanovsk and bus production in Vladivostok.
In addition to the restart of car plants, new models appeared on the assembly lines of already operating enterprises during the last year. For example, in spring AvtoVAZ started assembling Lada Largus station wagons and vans in Izhevsk, and in the fall Lada Aura production started in Togliatti. Also in the fall, production of the H3 compact crossover began at the Haval plant in the Tula region. In 2024, Evolute started production of i-Sky and i-Jet electric cars and i-Space hybrids in the Lipetsk region, and Citroen cars started to be assembled in the Kaluga region.
New models and production facilities will also appear this year. Thus, Lipetsk has recently started to produce hybrid cars Voyah. In the near future the assembly of crossovers Haval M6 will start in Kaluga region. The serial production of trucks "BAZ" near St. Petersburg is planned for the summer. In addition, in the first half of the year, the Lada Iskra, shown last year, will enter the assembly line of AvtoVAZ. Production of the Atom electric car and another crossover is also expected to start at the Moskvich auto plant during the year.
Production depends on the market
The Russian automobile industry undoubtedly has a good potential for further increase in the output of all types of vehicles, experts interviewed by Izvestia note. However, the possibility of increasing production by domestic enterprises directly depends on the general situation on the car market, they emphasize.
- To assemble some additional number of cars is not the biggest problem. Almost all our car plants can do it. The main question is what to do with these cars afterwards. No one will work "for stock". Therefore, the increase in the production of cars is directly related to the demand for them. If sales grow, Russian enterprises will be able to give the market the necessary number of additional cars without much difficulty. But if sales slow down, we should not expect an increase in car production in our country," Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine, told Izvestia.
He noted that there may be certain prospects in the passenger car segment. As for trucks, an increase in production volumes is unlikely, since even at the end of last year the demand for trucks decreased, the expert reminded. The demand for buses largely depends not so much on the market as on the volume of financing of fleet renewal programs in the regions. If they increase, the production of buses will also grow, Maxim Kadakov said.
Sergei Tselikov, Director General of Avtostat, agrees that the market has a direct impact on the production of vehicles inside the country. At the same time, the market itself is filled from two sources: imported cars and cars produced in Russia, he emphasized.
- We see that now all efforts are aimed at shifting this ratio more towards localized models. And if the market shifts this balance to cars assembled at Russian enterprises, it is not excluded that even if the current sales volumes of new cars are maintained, the production of cars in Russia may increase," Sergey Tselikov believes.
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