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Capacity utilization of Russian automobile plants is below 30% - newspaper

The segment of minivans suffered most in the commercial transport sector

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

MOSCOW, June 13. /TASS/. Capacity utilization of systemic companies in the Russian automotive industry declined from 50% to less than 30% after two months of the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Izvestiya newspaper reports on Saturday, citing data of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Automobiles production plummeted by 60.2% year-on-year in April 2020, according to the Russian statistical agency Rosstat. Key reasons for the decline was suspension of operations by automobile plants because of nonworking days in the country during the pandemic period, disruption of imported components’ deliveries and falling demand, the agency told the newspaper.

The segment of minivans suffered most in the commercial transport sector, GAZ Group told Izvestiya. The plant capacity utilization fell more than twofold in June 2020 on an annualized basis, according to Group data.

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