There are no foreign cars, there are only Russian ones. This was the message of Russian President Vladimir Putin to officials on Thursday during a meeting with the heads of manufacturing enterprises, writes “Politico”.
At the meeting, the Russian leader explains that numerous government officials have asked him to allow them to continue buying foreign vehicles.
“I said that this should be absolutely prohibited and all the country’s employees should travel in local cars. This may mean that some people’s cars are more modest than before, and that’s fine. Actually, that’s a good thing. All our wonderful bureaucrats must understand that it is important to strive for the development of local brands,” Putin said.
Following the president’s comments, state-owned carmaker AvtoVAZ announced it had the production capacity needed to provide cars for Russian officials. Earlier, RIA Novosti reported that the Russian car industry was too small for this, citing an informed source.
The deputies from the lower house of the Russian parliament announced that they will voluntarily give up the Beemvets and Mercedes that they now use officially, and will switch to Russian brands.
Against this backdrop, new data showed that car sales in Russia rose 168.8% year-on-year in July, partially recovering from a decline in 2022.
Russia’s auto industry has been heavily dependent on investment, equipment and parts from abroad and has been hit hard by the fallout from Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, with sales falling 59% in 2022 and many foreign carmakers leaving the country. Chinese firms are also increasing their sales in Russia by assembling cars in factories vacated by companies such as Renault and Nissan.
Lada is the most iconic car brand in Russia – although Putin himself has been spotted in the more luxurious Russian brand Aurus.
2023-08-04 17:53:13
#Putin #civil #servants #drive #Lada #Moskvich #Review
