Remember Oleg Deripaska? The Russian oligarch that had been under suspicion of money laundering and organized crime activities?  The very same Deripaska GM did not want to have close to Opel for fear of losing their precious intellectual property ? Yes, him. GM just handed him the blueprints and the tooling for the Chevy Aveo. (Read More…)

We sometimes forget that Russia is very close to Japan. So close that you can see Russia (or Japan) with the naked eye. For many years, Japan’s used cars were literally sent to Siberia, where they did, right hand drive be damned, hard duty in a climate they were not built for. Mazda is thinking of reviving the far eastern ties between Russia and Japan. (Read More…)

Yo, wazzup?`Want to get your hands on Russia’s first homegrown hybrid, yo? All you need to do is get yo sorry azz over to Moscow, dat Russia for you, yo. According to Itar-Tass, the Russian yo-Auto company shows their “yo” hybrid at the yo-mobile pavilion in downtown Moscow from January 2 through 11. Yo, dat’s right. (Read More…)

The best thing about the Soviet Corvair, aka Zaporozhets? The original idea was to rip off the design of the Volkswagen air-cooled engine for its powerplant, but Soviet engineers made their air-cooled four a V4 so that the cylinder heads would be more accessible when working on the engine in a mud-floored lean-to in Kemerovo (no doubt using tools made on the spot from melted-down kitchen utensils). So why not make a limousine version? (Read More…)

Russia has complained long and bitterly that Western firms refuse to share technology with its home-grown auto industry, but now the billionaire owner of the New Jersey Nets has introduced Russia’s first home-grown hybrid cars in hopes of proving that Russia can compete in the global car industry. But, according to the WSJ, the launch of the brand known as “Yo” (“ë” in Russian) was not without its problems

Mr. Prokhorov said he intends to “break the stereotype saying Russia can’t produce good cars,” even though an executive needed three attempts to successfully start the prototype car with a mobile phone using a remote-start feature.

But then what do you expect from a Russian-built prototype of a hybrid car that’s set to cost only $10k?
(Read More…)

A few days ago the BBC reported that, officially, Russia was losing 1 trillion rubles (that’s about $32.5b to you) due to corruption. Also coming 154th on the corruption perceptions index does not help matters, either. “Gigantic sums of money are being pocketed by officials and dishonest businessmen,” said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, “Deal with them and put them in prison – there is no other way out.” So it sounds like President Medvedev is serious about dealing with corruption. He starts with a foreign company with deep pockets: Daimler. Again? (Read More…)

In the car world, the BRIC countries have already got their institutional market leaders. That’s how quick these markets are moving. General Motors and Volkswagen have an iron grip on the Chinese market, Suzuki and Hyundai have India in their palms. Fiat is king in Brazil. But Russia is still anybody’s game. Well, Renault and Nissan want to change that. (Read More…)

The EU has ambitious CO2 targets: Less than 130g/km by 2012, less than 95g/km by 2020. Carmakers are shaking their heads: No way! Even the most electro-agnostic firms tinker with EVs (even if they are from Japan) to bring their average down. “No problem,” says a new study. The targets are a cinch to reach. What’s more, no heavy and expensive batteries to lug around. use the existing engine! No range anxiety. What is that miracle technology? (Read More…)

In order to produce and sell cars in China, foreign firms are required to form joint partnerships with a Chinese firm. With a ten-year, $15b government EV stimulus in the works, automakers are complaining that a requirement to build EVs in partnership with Chinese firms amounts to government-mandated barrier to market access. A foreign automaker executive complains to the Wall Street Journal that the draft version of the government plan is

tantamount to China strong-arming foreign auto makers to give up battery, electric-motor, and control technology in exchange for market access… We don’t like it.

China’s automotive market is projected to grow faster than most, and with $15b of government assistance, the Chinese government has a big carrot with which to tempt foreign firms into sharing their technology. But the backlash is already building…

(Read More…)

PSA Peugeot, and their joint venture with China’s Dongfeng, are planning to export cars made in China to Russia, said Gregoire Olivier, Peugeot-Citroen’s recently appointed head of Asian operations,  to The Beijing News via Gasgoo.

PSA wants to sell cars made at the Chinese JV in other regions of Asia and Russia as early as next year, said Olivier. The only thing that’s keeping them from doing it right now is the lack of a logistics platform. But they are building that in Shanghai as we speak, and it should be up and running next year.

Because Olivier was recently appointed, he may have missed various memos, and will be forgiven. Here a quick update: (Read More…)

A few days ago, TTAC reported that Vladimir Putin issued an ultimatum to foreign car makers, “invest here or else”. 4 days later, VW announced that they were planning a new assembly line at GAZ, and more capacity at their Kaluga plant in Russia. Coincidence? Probably. But it seems like others are following suit. Pretty bloody quickly. (Read More…)

Days after  Vladimir Putin, well, encouraged foreign carmakers to come to Russia, open car factories and better bring the latest technology, or else, Martin Winterkorn announced that Volkswagen is planning a new assembly line at Russia’s GAZ and that they will expand their factory in the Kaluga region in the future. Winterkorn said that after meeting Putin himself and most likely after having received a similar speech as what was previously broadcasted. (Read More…)

Mr. Putin must be reading TTAC. Barely did we report that the Russian market is coming back to life, Vladimir Putin stepped in front of the cameras in Moscow, and announced killer measures to put the Russian auto market back into its place.

In a speech today, Putin announced that import tariffs for new cars will be increased “step by step.” He didn’t mention any numbers or dates, but the buyers  of that  Mulsanne better hurry. And it’s not that importing cars to Russia is particularly cheap right now. Currently, there is a 30 percent import duty on any new car. Smug Vladimir said that Russia is not part of the WTO, so they can put their import duties as high as they damn please. (Read More…)

The fate of the car industry depends highly on the price of oil. Higher oil prices, lower car sales. Lower oil prices, higher cars sales. Everywhere but Russia.

Russia’s main export is energy. Oil and gas. When oil climbed, the Russians were rolling in money and bought cars like crazy. Then came 2008. Oil crashed. The market crashed. Russian oligarchs went bankrupt. The car market followed. Unit sales of passenger cars dropped 50 percent last year. The annual Moscow Motor Show was cancelled. Automakers were worried about their investments into the Russian market. The Russians tried to protect their industry, raised import tariffs. The market plummeted more. Now, all of this is ancient history. (Read More…)

Nearly every manufacturer out there is making a cheap car for the emerging markets. Renault has the Logan, Toyota has the Etios, Tata has the Nano and Ford has the Figo. The reasoning is pretty clear. In order to grow in these markets, you need to offer something that provides a painless upgrade path from a motorcycle to something with four wheels and a roof over your head. When makers like Renault, Ford and Toyota make an offering of this nature, you get the impression that there will be a certain level of quality in the car. Maybe not up to the level more mature markets are used to, but the standards will be high. That comes with a price. Now what if I told you that a certain car maker who is globally known for producing piles of cheap junk is making their own cheap car for emerging markets? What level of quality do you think that cheap car will have? (Read More…)