In December, the Russians want to start the production of Moskvich cars, a brand that left the market two decades ago, at the former Moscow Renault Avtoframos plant. Now they are looking for a partner, most likely from China, but there are several obstacles that stand in the way of reviving this long-standing brand.

The brand’s revival was announced in the spring, and many laughed and others marveled at the idea. In May, Renault left the plant, which also produced models such as the Logan and Duster, after increasing international pressure over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The plan is rather unrealistic: to produce 600 Moskvich cars this year (200 of them electric) and 50,000 in 2023. The Kamaz company, best known for its trucks, has promised to invest more than 80 million euros in the plant and is looking for a foreign partner, Reuters writes.

The press wrote that it could be the Chinese company JAC, which could provide design, engineering and production platform.

A few questions need to be asked:

Where will the Russians get components for tens of thousands of cars a year, given that many suppliers have closed?

Even in a market that has fallen by 60%, will the cars of a brand that is long gone and does not have a good image be successful?

Can these machines be safe and reliable, given that components from Western suppliers no longer arrive in Russia?

The history of the “Moskvich” brand began in 1929, when an automobile plant was founded in Moscow, which from 1930 produced Ford models under a US license with American spare parts.

However, “Moskvich” became one of the most beloved brands in the USSR, there were also sports cars, they reached export even to Great Britain, and in 2016 it was estimated that there are still one million cars of this brand on the streets of Russia. .

According to the latest data on the fleet, there are 543 Moskvich cars left on the register in Romania. Models of the Soviet brand were very popular in our country in the 70s and 80s, being considered somewhat more interesting in design than Lada. The Moskvich-408 model was particularly successful.

Moskvich also produced several sports cars, but this was a super niche, the basis of which were serial models that sold well in the 70s and 80s, such as the Moskvich-2141 Aleko, released in 1986. This was of great importance, and the fact is that cars of this brand could also be repaired “around the block”, and many Russians had knowledge in auto mechanics, so there was no need to go to the service station often.

After 1995, production dropped so much and the situation became so dire that after a few months workers were paid in parts instead of money.

The last attempt to save was made in 1998, when the factory released a model that was considered a premium class and received the name “Ivan Kalita” in honor of the famous Moscow prince of the 14th century.

The last wagons were manufactured in 2001, in 2003 the bankruptcy procedure began and in 2006 this procedure was completed. The plant produced very few spare parts until 2010.

Part of the “Moskvich” plant was absorbed and repaired by the “Renault” company, which in 1998 began the construction of the “Avtoframos” plant, which was handed over to the Moscow City Hall in the spring.