Ex-Mercedes-Benz plant in Russia to start production of Esteo cars

In Russia, three models of the new Esteo car brand have been certified, they have been issued a vehicle type approval (VTA), the Chinese Cars portal reported on February 21. The manufacturer is Automobile Plant of Moscow Region, whose address is the same as the ex-Mercedes-Benz plant in Esipovo near Moscow.

The representative of the new car brand in Russia is the company "Esteo Rus". According to the publication, the model lineup of the brand will consist of models built on the basis of Exeed. From the information on certification it follows that "Esteo Rus" has received OTTS for cars based on crossovers LX (33T), TXL (51M) and RX (41T).

Thus, under the name Esteo 33T is a compact crossover Exeed LX (costs in Russia from 3.04 million rubles). Esteo 51M is based on the mid-size Exeed TXL (from 4.08 million rubles), and Esteo 41T is called a "close relative" of a mid-size crossover coupe Exeed RX (from 4.55 million rubles).

It is noted that the press service of Exeed does not comment on production in Russia, and the Esteo brand has not made any statements.

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The day before it was reported that at the beginning of the second quarter of 2025 at the former Volkswagen plant in Kaluga is planned to begin mass production of cars of the new Russian brand Tenet. In parallel with the large-unit assembly, work will be carried out to prepare for the transition to full-cycle production, including welding and painting operations. The launch of small-unit assembly is planned for the third quarter of 2025.