Sollers localizes stamping of vehicle body parts for LCVs using MMK steel in Tatarstan

KAZAN. April 22 (Interfax) - Russian automotive group Sollers has localized stamping production of vehicle body parts for its Sollers Atlant and Sollers Argo light commercial vehicles (LCVs) using Russian steel, the automaker's press service said.

Production has been established at an industrial partner's facility in Tatarstan. The partner enterprise now handles technological operations for stamping approximately 120 body components and conducts geometry inspections of manufactured parts. The entire localization process, including stamping equipment commissioning, was completed in under one year.

All major external and internal body components, including doors, fenders, hoods, side panels and roofs, as well as structural elements are now manufactured from galvanized steel supplied by Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK). Using locally produced components will significantly enhance body corrosion resistance while improving quality and geometric precision, the press service said.

"Starting in April, over 50% of Sollers Atlant body and Argo cabin mass will be stamped in Russia from domestic galvanized steel," Sollers CEO Nikolai Sobolev was quoted as saying.

Total project investment reached 4.3 billion rubles, including 3.4 billion rubles provided by the Industrial Development Fund (IDF) as a preferential loan.

PJSC Sollers incorporates Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant which produces UAZ models, along with facilities manufacturing commercial vehicles, buses and pickups under the Sollers brand using Chinese JAC technologies across Ulyanovsk, Tatarstan and the Far East. The group's operations also include the Zavolzhye Engine Plant in the Nizhny Novgorod region, a transmission production facility and several component manufacturing subsidiaries.