International sanctions or not, Russia continues to actively develop the auto industry…

Russia refused Chinese manufacturers

Since the beginning of the war two years ago in February, the automotive face of the world’s largest country has changed dramatically. Output of European, American and Asian manufacturers, which has historically largely dominated sales. All of them ceased operations in the country, separated from their subsidiaries, their factories and their tools, sometimes sold for a pittance. Skoda, for example, was forced to abandon its second European market after Germany, Lexus by 25% of volumes in Europe! To make matters worse, Renault had to separate from its subsidiary AvtoVAZ-Lada, the leading car manufacturer in Russia. Since then, Chinese brands have appeared. Chery, Haval, Geely Changan: they were awarded almost in 2023 56% of the country’s market, compared to barely 10% in January 2022, before the Russian invasion. They are now the main allies of Russian automakers: the Moskvich brand has been revived and assembles Chinese models under license, so will the GAZ Volga, which will be updated on a Chinese basis, or the next Lada models, which will also be of Chinese origin. Despite the strong dependence on the Chinese, some Russian brands trace their independence…

Kama Atom Russian-made electric car

This is the case Kama, a new car manufacturer which aims to bring the first electric car to market 100% Russian production, Atom. The project begins in 2020 and at that time was the result of cooperation between St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and KAMAZ, the largest truck manufacturer in Russia. Since then, he has made significant progress, so much so that Atom marketing is getting closer… Its design was entrusted to the Italian firm Torino Design, while Kaspersky (known for its antivirus) developed the complete software architecture. German engineer Harald Gruber, who previously worked at Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and recently at AvtoVAZ, is responsible for the engineering part. The Atom is a 4-meter-long compact car that looks like a minivan, slightly elevated SUV style. Its platform is unique and features a 77kWh LFP battery capable of providing approximately 500 km of autonomy on one charge and charges up to 80% in about 30 minutes. Under the hood, Kama announces the development of an electric motor 204 horsepower, which accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 8 seconds. All technical details will be announced in the coming months.

Its marketing is planned from 2025…at the former Renault plant in Moscow !

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