Belarus to increase localization of Geely cars, start producing BelGee - Lukashenko
MINSK. Oct 24 (Interfax) - The Belarusian-Chinese joint venture BelGee will increase localization in the production of Geely passenger cars, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said.
"Localization will now be given special attention. We have to get our own parts for this car. We have everything for this. We have certain enterprises that don't have enough work. Yes, it's not an easy task to produce our own engine for a passenger car and a gearbox. But we have set this task," Lukashenko was quoted by his press service as saying, when commenting on the prospects for the company's development.
Moreover, there are plans to build an additional shop for molding car bodies at BelGee. "We have reached an agreement with the Chinese in this regard. If we need equipment, they will help us. And we will slowly move towards [producing] our own car. We purchased a license from them, which means we will already produce BelGee [cars]. It will be even better than the one we produce. But it takes a little time," he added.
BelGee will double its output and produce over 60,000 passenger cars this year, Lukashenko also said. In the future, the company's capacity will be expanded to 120,000 cars per year.
"Another priority is to create an electric car. Belarus has certain projects in this area, and they should be developed. Everything is there except batteries," he said.
"We will have [this] car. There will be a basic, good car, while in addition we are still attracting investors here to produce cars," Lukashenko said.
The Belarusian-Chinese joint venture BelGee will increase localization of production and expand capacity to produce up to 80,000 Geely cars per year, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Pyotr Parkhomchik said in August.
The joint venture CJSC BelGee was established in December 2011. In November 2017, the company commissioned a full-cycle CKD plant (small-unit assembly) in the Minsk region. The production capacity is up to 60,000 cars per year with the option of further expansion.