Assembly of compact crossovers launched at PSMA Rus automobile plant in Kaluga

KALUGA. Dec 19 (Interfax) - The assembly of a test run of compact crossovers has been launched at the PSMA Rus automobile plant in Kaluga by the site's industrial partner, the Automotive Technologies Company, which is already supplying these cars to the Russian market using the "parallel import" mechanism.

As Interfax reported, the restart of the car plant after a long period of downtime took place on Tuesday, and the governor of the Kaluga region, Vladislav Shapsha, was there for it. The company will soon assemble a test run of 48 compact crossovers. Production at the first stage will be done by means of the large-knot method using SKD-4 (semi knocked-down) technology, without welding or painting the bodies for now.

"The fundamental difference between SKD-4 and DKD (disassembled knocked down) is that this technology has added value. What we are starting to produce in Kaluga is assembled completely from scratch, and has not previously been a car. At the next stages of production development, it is planned to increase the Russian part of the added value through welding and painting operations," Pavel Bezruchenko, director for strategic development of Automotive Technologies, told reporters.

In the future, the company wants to launch other models. The resumption of serial production at the PSMA Rus site is planned for Q2 2024.

"To restart production at the PSMA Rus plant, we found it was possible to organize the supply of components from China for the cars of our root brands. For this, agreements were reached between Automotive Technologies and the Chinese supplier. We bring 798 groups of auto components into Russia; in total, over 1,700 positions," Bezruchenko said.

Automotive Technologies is not only a production partner of the PSMA Rus plant, but also works as an importer and distributor of spare parts and cars for to the Russian market, including those imported through the "parallel import" mechanism. Thus, Citroen C5 Aircross and Peugeot 4008 compact crossovers, Peugeot 5008 crossovers, and Citroen C5X mid-size crossovers and crossbacks are already for sale on the Russian market. These vehicles are available from about 20 dealers with whom the company works.

As Bezruchenko said, it is assumed that in the future, "Automotive Technologies" will be included in the current PSMA Rus plant's special investment contract (SPIC).