Lukashenko predicted the superiority of the automotive industry of Russia and Belarus over Mercedes

Russia and Belarus should strengthen import substitution processes within the Union State. This was stated on April 11 by President of the Republic Alexander Lukashenko, noting that in three to four years the domestic car industry will be able to surpass the level of Mercedes-Benz.

"We have raw materials, we have technologies, although not the most advanced, in some ways not the most advanced, but they are there. I'm giving you an example: we won't be driving Mercedes cars for three or four years, until we reach their current level and maybe surpass them. We also have competencies and schools: Moskvich, Zhiguli, and so on. And they started making cars quite well. We'll get over it somehow. We have the basis," the Belarusian leader said in an interview with the Mir television and radio company.

Lukashenko also noted that it is necessary to pay tribute and thank the Western and American companies that left Belarus and Russia.

"But they have escaped from various industries and spheres, but a very important area is the provision of people. And that's what Belarus has in place to provide for people. Further. High-tech enterprises such as our Integral and others are very important to us. Only Belarus has preserved the basics of this microelectronics. <...> Take the same engineering. Take agriculture," the president pointed out and stressed that the republic has maintained its level of production and technology.

Reversed: car imports from China decreased

Mexico and the UAE have bypassed Russia in importing Chinese cars

On the eve of April 10, it was reported that cargo unmanned vehicles will begin mass production at KAMAZ in 2028. The Naberezhnye Chelny auto giant has provided three unmanned vehicles for moving in the Moscow region — two MAYAK-1 trucks and a second-generation MAYAK-2 car.

On April 4, it became known that by the end of March 2025, the Belarusian brand Belgee turned out to be the leader in the Russian car market among the car brands that have appeared in the Russian Federation over the past three years. In March, the company sold 2,428 Belgee vehicles in Russia, which is 21% more than a month earlier.