The former Hyundai plant in Russia has produced 26 thousand cars after the restart

In the year since the February start of production, the AGR Automobile Plant in St. Petersburg has produced more than 26,000 Solaris vehicles. The AGR company's press service announced this in its Telegram channel on February 28.

The company uses full-cycle technology, including stamping, welding, painting and assembly, to produce Hyundai and Kia cars of four models with nameplates of the Russian brand. The company said that the Solaris HS entered the top three best-selling sedans in Russia in 2024. Since the start of production, localization has been significantly expanded, including the use of Russian steel and the introduction of domestic components and developments, including the ERA-GLONASS system.

The plant has completely refused technical support from foreign partners, AGR said. Internal logistics processes have been optimized, and production autonomy has been increased. Cooperation with key Russian suppliers has also been resumed and new partners have been attracted. 245 robots are involved in the production processes. The company noted that the plant not only retained staff, but also launched a program to hire new specialists, and some employees of the plant have more than 10 years of experience at the enterprise.

In addition, the technical developments of the plant's engineers were implemented during the year, which made it possible to optimize production processes and eliminate external suppliers, the company noted.

The era of renaissance: foreign car companies want to return to Russia

Experts doubt the success of car brands that decided to return to the Russian market

On February 25, it was reported that Kia Russia & CIS, after a long period of personnel inactivity, posted two vacancies in Moscow. So, the company started searching for a technical consultant and a dealer marketing specialist.

On February 14, Korean media reported that Hyundai Motor Concern may consider the option of returning to the Russian market and may decide on this before the end of 2025. According to the Yonhap news agency, the company may be exploring the option of buying back the plant in St. Petersburg. This development is supported by Hyundai's recent re-registration of the trademark in Rospatent, the note noted. Later, on February 21, Hyundai Motor announced that the concern is now href="https://iz.ru/1842838/2025-02-21/hyundai-prokommentirovala-vozmozhnost-vozvrashcheniia-na-rynok-rf " target="_blank">is not working to enter the Russian market, so far there are no steps in this direction.