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Putin pledged to move govt officials from foreign made cars to domestic ones

He said that exceptions would be made only if automobiles are not made in the CES

TOGLIATTI, April 4 (Itar-Tass) —— Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pledged that government officials would give up their foreign made cars and start using domestically manufactured ones.

“I think that all governmental and municipal bodies, customers and enterprises that are financed out of the federal budget should buy only those automobiles that are made in the Common Economic Space, that is, in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus,” Putin said on Wednesday, April 4, at a meeting on the development of the automobile industry during Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation.

He said that exceptions would be made only if automobiles are not made in the CES.

This means that government officials will have to give up several premium segment foreign made cars.

BMW, Toyota, Fiord, Volkswagen, and GM cars are made in Russia. The most popular brands used for official purposes are Mercedes, BMW and Audi, of which only Mercedes has so far not launched its production in Russia. Audit, which is part of Volkswagen Corporation, can start assembling its cars in Kaluga.

According to Putin, this measure is not at odds with the requirements of the World Trade Organisation because “government purchases are regulated by our internal rules”.