New Mercedes playground

German Daimler plans to build a plant to produce passenger cars of Mercedes-Benz in the suburbs. On Thursday, said Deputy Head of the Department of Transport and Special Machinery Industry and Trade Vsevolod Grandmother, whose words gave Tass. According to the official, the ministry previously approved Daimler plant project.

"On our side, the project received preliminary approval. Who is the decision of the measures on the part of the Moscow region. In principle, Moscow oblast is interested ", - said Grandma, without specifying the possible date start of production. Daimler spokesman declined to comment, saying only that the final decision on siting carmaker will take until the end of the year. The ministry's press service did not respond to the request.

Construction Mercedes plant is planned in the village Peshkovskoe Solnechnogorsk district at the facilities "Esipovo" industrial park under construction (start working in 2019), reported RNS 3 June. This information was confirmed by two sources RBC familiar with the plans avtokontsmolecular weight. Preview output -. 25 thousand cars a year, said earlier the president of the Russian Investment Agency Yuri Spiridonov, who participated in the selection of the site for the Mercedes factory. According to him, in the case of start-up of production in Russia may be issued five series of automobile brand models S, E, ML, GL and A.

Daimler's partner in plant construction in the suburbs can become KamAZ, which has an agreement on industrial assembly (gives the right to preferential customs importation of automotive components - 0-5% instead of 15%), RBC said a source familiar with the plans of both companies. But the conditions under which the Russian company will go to the project, the source did not elaborate. Daimler owns a 15% stake in Kamaz, in addition, they already have a joint project - in March in Naberezhnye Chelny (Tatarstan) started construction of a plant to produce cabs for trucks. The representative of Kamaz on request RBC did not answer.

Now all cars Mercedes-Benz, which are sold in Russia are imported. On the local businesses just placed orders for the release of light-duty Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

Daimler two years looking for a site for the headod. Among them called St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Russia, Tatarstan, Sverdlovsk region, Moscow (at the facilities of the former car factory ZIL) and the Moscow region. In April 2015 the head of the Russian Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said that Industrial assembly of Mercedes cars in Russia could be organized under the quota of General Motors, which has left the Russian market in March of the same year. However, the final decision was taken.

Analysts do not undertake to assess the amount of investment in the Mercedes factory. The amount will depend on the level of localization of production, said Bespalov. ". If there will be launched" screwdriver "assembly of cars, it is $ 10-15 million with painting, welding and stamping we can talk about hundreds of millions of dollars", - said Bespalov. For example, in 2014, BMW was planning to build its own plant with a capacity of up to 80 ths. Cars in the Kaliningrad region of € 1,5 billion and said at the time president of the Kaliningrad plant "Autotor" (collects contract Kia cars, Hyundai and BMW) Valery Draganov. But later in the crisis BMW deferred a decision to build a plant to Undefinedny time.

The crisis is not a hindrance

The main part of the automakers built their production facilities in Russia, c 2005 to 2013 (the last plant to Mazda assembly was opened in Vladivostok group Sollers Vadim Shvetsov). Since 2013, automakers are only upgraded equipment and auxiliary power were built. For example, in late 2015. Ford Sollers and Volkswagen opened a factory for the production of engines, the investment in which amounted to $ 275 million and € 250 million.

Daimler plans to build a plant on the background of the collapse of the Russian car market. Since 2013, when the stagnation, the local market fell almost twice. Only in the last year sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCV) fell by almost 36%, to 1.6 million units in the January-May 2016 - by 14%, to 548 thousand cars.. Sales of Mercedes for the same period decreased by 15 and 17%, respectively -. To 41.6 thousand and 15.8 thousand cars..

On the whole, 2016, PwC estimated that the car market drop could reach 15%, according to Vladimir Bespalov from "VTB Capital" - 5-10%.

Mercedes sales are falling is not as fast as the rest of the market and Propertyenny plant will reduce costs and increase the profitability of Daimler, explains Bespalov. In addition, local production will allow the brand to participate in public procurement (officials and civil servants are now prohibited from buying cars made outside of Russia), adds the executive director of "AUTOSTAT" Sergei removed.

Other automakers are working on the Russian market on the investment plans until the claim.

The representative of AvtoVAZ (Russia's largest automaker) said that the plant have enough power (more than 1 million vehicles, load - about 40%). Togliatti automobile plant in 2014 to optimize personnel, to date, the company left about 27 thousand. Man. In addition, since February of this year, AvtoVAZ operates in four-day week operation, and from 6 June to announce further delays on individual conveyors.

No plans to open a manufacturing and Volvo Cars (does not have its own facilities in Russia), stated in the press-service of the company. KIA spokesman said that the company already assembles in Russia almost all models (except Picanto): «In the currentynochnoy situation, we have no plans to expand production or to build new production facilities in Russia. " Other automakers RBC requests are not answered.

One of the largest car manufacturers operating in Russia, - the Volkswagen group - has reached the required level of localization under the agreement on industrial assembly, said the head of the Russian representation of the automaker Marcus Ozegovich. The plans to increase the level of localization of the company has not yet announced.

"Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus" (collects Hyundai and Kia cars), has announced that in 2016 in the modernization of the plant in St. Petersburg will be invested about $ 100 million, is preparing to release two new models - Hyundai Creta crossover and the new Solaris.