For the past 15 years, Moscow’s Alpha Automotive Technologies (AAT) has been making car body components for Russian-assembled vehicles of the French-Japanese Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. Now it has switched to similar orders from Chinese companies.
A multi-story commercial building in the south of the Russian capital has recently become the new home of AAT. It’s much more spacious than the old Moscow facility, where it was housed until the fall of 2022. It gives the car parts manufacturer more room for expansion. The company’s top managers are excited.
Haval has been working in Russia since 2014. It has built a plant in the Tula region, about 200km from Moscow, which currently produces SUVs and pickup trucks. Unlike the Westerners, the Chinese chose to stay in Russia in 2022 following the beginning of Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine, welcoming the input from local parts makers, such as AAT.
AAT’s own equipment is mostly made in countries that imposed economic sanctions against Russia last year – Sweden, Switzerland, the US, and others. But the company’s workers are optimistic about servicing the heavy machines and electronics locally.
“The robots are being serviced according to pre-planned schedule,” shift supervisor Alexander Yemelin says. “We also have enough spare parts in storage, so the equipment will remain functional for a very long time.”
Подробнее: Pivot to China: How Russia’s Car Industry is Adapting to Sanctions (sputniknews.com)