AGR Group launches production of Tenet A8 sedan at former GM plant in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG. July 21 (Interfax) - Russia's AGR Holding and China's Defetoo have begun producing Tenet A8 automobiles at the former plant of U.S. company General Motors in Shushary, St. Petersburg, the AGR group's press service reported.

"The launch of production of Tenet A8 opens up a new stage in the development of the brand's range of models and expands the production program for the AGR holding's plant in Shushary: it now includes models from three Russian automobile brands - Jeland, Esteo and Tenet. This step is confirmation of the holding and the Defetoo company's gradual journey towards developing localized automobile production in Russia," the press service said.

As reported, the Tenet A8 will be produced with two different gasoline motors. The first version is fitted with a 2-liter turbine engine of 197 horsepower and the second with a 1.6-liter turbine engine of 150 horsepower.

Industry-specific media have said that the Chery Arrizo 8 Pro served as the prototype for the automobile.

AGR LLC or AGR Automotive Group, Volkswagen's former asset in Kaluga, is also partnering with China's Defetoo in the full-cycle production of Tenet automobiles in Kaluga. The Kaluga plant, located in the Grabtsevo industrial park, has the capacity to produce 225,000 automobiles per year.

The St. Petersburg plant producers J6 and J7 Jeland crossovers. The prototypes for these models were models from Jaecoo, a sub-brand of China's Chery.

As AGR Holding CEO Andrei Karagin was reported to have said, there are plans to localize the production of six models for the Jeland brand, from the J and C ranges, at the plant.

In February, AGR and China's Defetoo completed the refurbishment of the automobile plant in St. Petersburg. The annual capacity of this site after the full ramp-up will reach 100,000 vehicles. The production line can produce up to 12 different types of bodies.