2023-07-28 15:20:09
«AvtoVAZ“Expects to resume production of Lada cars at the Al Amal plant in Egypt in 2024. This was stated in an interview with RIA Novosti at the Russia-Africa forum by the company’s president Maxim Sokolov. So far, we are talking about the release of only the Granta model, the top manager specified.
“We have resumed the negotiation process and hope that next year we will be able to jointly resume production. <...> While we are talking about the model that was previously produced – Granta. In principle, the Egyptian market is set to sell the most budget cars – Lada Granta is the most budget car in our line. We will continue to focus on the development of this market. But first we need to restore what we had,” Sokolov explained.
According to the president of AvtoVAZ, earlier, due to logistical problems, difficulties with mutual settlements and the unfavorable ruble exchange rate, it was not economically feasible to supply car kits to the Egyptian plant.
«AvtoVAZ” stopped supplying vehicle kits for assembly at a site in Egypt in 2022. Before that, the updated Lada Granta had been produced there for almost three years. In the 2000s, Al Amal produced the classic Lada line, but in 2013 their assembly was stopped because AvtoVAZ refused to produce obsolete models. Later, they began to assemble Lada Granta there.
Speaking on July 27 at a session of the Russia-Africa forum, Sokolov admitted that Al Amal could become a transport and logistics hub for the supply of Lada cars for the entire African continent. At the same time, in an interview with RIA Novosti, he admitted that a similar project for assembling Lada cars could be considered with other countries in North Africa, and primarily with Algeria.
Last year, AvtoVAZ exported a total of about 10,000 cars. The plan for this year is up to 10,000 vehicles, a company representative told Vedomosti.
Lada Granta is a popular car, but it is impossible to fill the entire domestic market with it, says auto expert Vladimir Bespalov. According to him, AvtoVAZ’s attempts to find where else to sell this model is a strategically correct decision.
“For the Egyptian market, this is a very suitable model. Problems with accessories are solved. If there is an assembly in Egypt, then we can think about localizing some of the components there,” the analyst believes. According to him, the first shipments of cars to the African country will not be large – at the level of several hundred pieces.
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