MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. Almost all car plants abandoned by foreign investors currently operate under the management of investors from Russia who, together with partners from friendly countries, have entered into a commitment to deepen localization of production, Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov said in an interview with TASS.
"Solutions for those abandoned capacities were also found in a relatively short period of time, with almost all of them now operational, under the management of Russian investors who, together with partners from friendly countries, have also made clear commitments to deepen localization. We, as a regulator, have consistently created comfortable investment conditions for this," he said.
Moscow has clear goals for developing its own production of cars in various segments, which are outlined in the strategy for development of the automotive industry until 2035, the minister noted. The key provisions of the document are aimed at achieving technological sovereignty in the industry and related sectors, creating own sanctions-resistant component and engineering base, as well as maintaining and developing own competencies and technological processes.
"Those goals were formed throughout 2022 when we faced unprecedented external sanctions, due to which the Russian car industry was positioned as one of the hardest-hit sectors during that period," Alikhanov said. Since then the Russian authorities, together with car plants, component manufacturers, and enterprises in related industries, have made a significant leap forward, he added. In particular, the production of cars in the country exceeded 967,000 units in 2024, which is 15.3% higher than in 2023, and around 1.5 times higher than in 2022.