- Статьи
- Auto
- Substitution therapy: how is the production of automotive components developing in Russia
Substitution therapy: how is the production of automotive components developing in Russia
The development of the domestic automotive industry and the production of localized car models is impossible without parts, assemblies and assemblies made in Russia. In late January and early February, several factories for the production of automotive components opened in our country. Izvestia found out which car components began to be produced in Russia and on which car models they will appear in the near future.
From the shores of the Baltic
A new cluster for the production of automotive components has been opened at the Avtotor plant in Kaliningrad. The first stage includes seven production sites at once: production of electronic control systems, electric motors, plastic parts, exhaust systems, car seats, compact electric vehicles (welding shop), as well as equipment and accessories. As Anton Alikhanov, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said at the ceremony, the total investments in this project amounted to about 29 billion rubles, of which about half were allocated by the Industrial Development Fund (EDF). The fund clarified that the financing of the first stage of the Kaliningrad automotive components cluster amounted to 8.2 billion rubles — these funds were used to equip production facilities with modern equipment. About 5 billion rubles more through the FRP are provided for the launch of the second stage of the project.
The emergence of a new cluster in Kaliningrad will enable the industry for the production of components and the domestic automotive industry as a whole to reach a new level of technological sovereignty, said the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
— The launch of this cluster will significantly increase the level of localization. We expect that the components produced in Kaliningrad will be in demand by other Russian automakers," Anton Alikhanov emphasized.
The Kaliningrad Region will become a pilot region for the development of electric transport, and Avtotor will become a backbone enterprise, said Alexey Besprozvannykh, the head of the region.
"With the launch of this cluster, we will be able to produce electric vehicles with our own component base," he said.
An additional incentive for the development of electric vehicle production in the region will be the gigafactory for the production of traction batteries launched at the end of last year in the Kaliningrad region, Alexey Besprozvannykh emphasized.
Valery Gorbunov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Avtotor Holding LLC, said that the key goal of the new cluster is to create automotive components independent of external factors. He noted that the launch of the second stage, scheduled for 2027, which provides for the creation of five more production facilities, will completely close the technological chain for the production of cars.
Motors, chips, and seats
The Kaliningrad cluster consists of several buildings located on the same territory, each of which produces various components. For example, motors for electric cars are assembled in one of the full-cycle workshops (including casting housings, winding rotors and staters). They will primarily be equipped with Eonix compact electric vehicles manufactured at Avtotor, as well as models of the Amberauto brand.
At the same time, as representatives of the company note, the scope of application of engines assembled at the plant is not limited only to transport. If necessary, the company will be able to launch the production of electric motors for other industries, for example, for industrial equipment.
Another car cluster building specializes in the production of electronic components: engine control units, telematics, emergency call devices, etc. In the near future, plans are to begin mass production of control electronics for inverters of electric cars, transmissions, multimedia systems.
Several long production lines are installed in the workshop, which carry out a full cycle of production of electronic components — from the manufacture of circuit boards and their soldering to the final assembly of the part. A similar principle has been implemented at other sites in the cluster. For example, the production of seats involves welding the frame, making stuffing, sewing covers. The production of plastic parts involves their casting and painting, and the production of exhaust systems involves bending and welding metal workpieces.
Murom bridges and rails
Another production of automotive components was opened in the Vladimir region at the Murommashzavod enterprise. The production of electric power steering rails for Aurus cars, as well as electric gantry bridges for electric buses, has started here. The total investment in the creation of a new production facility exceeded 2.2 billion rubles, of which 1.75 billion was provided by the Industrial Development Fund.
These funds were used to purchase more than 40 units of new equipment, the FRP said. In particular, an automated assembly line for electric motor stators for electric gantry bridges, a surface mounting line for printed circuit boards, a high-pressure aluminum alloy casting complex, high-precision toothworking, milling and turning machines and machining centers and other equipment were purchased.
— For us, the production of components for premium Aurus cars is an indicator of trust in our company. It is clear that the volume of production of these parts is small, it depends primarily on the volume of production of the machines themselves," said Alexandra Sumina, CEO of Murommashzavod.
She said that this year the company has received an order for the production of 350 steering rails. However, the design of these units formed the basis of similar components for more mass-produced car models.
— Using steering rack manufacturing technologies for Aurus, we have already produced a pilot batch of such parts for Gazelle Next and Gazelle NN vehicles. They are currently undergoing the necessary tests, after which we are ready to deliver them to the GAS pipeline. The company is ready to produce up to 40,000 of these units per year," Alexandra Sumina said.
In addition, according to her, other automakers are interested in equipping their models with steering rails from Murom. For example, negotiations are currently underway with Haval, a car manufacturer in the Tula region.
It is noteworthy that, with the exception of seals, cuffs and some other rubber parts, the steering rails are completely made at the Murom plant. Their housings are cast here, shafts and gears are manufactured, and other mechanical parts of this unit are manufactured. The level of localization of production is 84%, the company noted.
In the production of gantry bridges for electric buses, the localization level is even higher — 87%. The massive housings of these units, as well as the electric motors installed in them, are manufactured by Muromashzavod independently. The plant is ready to cover all the needs of KAMAZ, Volgabas and other Russian manufacturers of electric buses for electric port bridges, as well as adapt them for hybrid and electric trucks, Alexandra Sumina noted. In addition, it is planned to supply these units not only to car factories, but also to end users as spare parts for repairing equipment already in use.
— German and Chinese gantry bridges are installed on electric buses that are currently operating on the routes. After some time, the resource of these nodes will be exhausted. We plan to replace imported units, in particular on Moscow electric buses, with domestic ones over the next few years," said the General director of Murommashzavod.
An incentive for the automotive industry
The creation of Russian cars and the development of the domestic automotive industry is impossible without an appropriate component base, said Igor Morzharetto, partner of the analytical agency Autostat. He considers the opening of the Kaliningrad cluster and the production of nodes in Murom to be extremely important events for the entire automotive industry in the country.
— The experience of the global automotive industry shows that no country can fully provide itself with all the necessary components and parts for the production of cars. It's just not necessary. However, the key components and assemblies of the machines must be domestic. This is a question of the technological independence of the entire industry," he told Izvestia.
The launch of two automotive component plants in our country at once will provide powerful support to the Russian automotive industry, Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine, is confident. The developments gained in the manufacture of assemblies and parts at these new enterprises can easily be used in the future to create similar components for other machine models, he notes.
— A striking example of this is the development of similar parts for Gazelles based on steering rails for Aurus. These are necessary steps to localize Russian car models," he said.
The geographical location of this enterprise imposes certain restrictions on the scaling of production in the Kaliningrad cluster, the expert believes. Due to logistical issues, it may be difficult to supply parts and assemblies manufactured there to other Russian car factories, he explains.
— The seats, exhaust systems, and large plastic parts produced in Kaliningrad are unlikely to be supplied to other plants. These are too bulky loads. But the use of electronic components and systems of Kaliningrad production for the production of domestic car models at enterprises in central Russia is quite realistic, — Maxim Kadakov believes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
