The Russian Automobile telegram channel claims that this weekend a delegation from the GAC concern (Guangzhou Automobile Group) is visiting the former Volkswagen plant in the Kaluga region and the Hyundai plant near St. Petersburg. The Chinese have a priority in the car assembly cluster, which previously produced Volkswagens, Skodas, Peugeot and Mitsubishi.
According to insiders, representatives of AGR (formerly Volkswagen Group Rus) are making extraordinary efforts to attract a new partner to idle factories. The site in Kaluga will be launched in test mode in December, but we are talking about a small batch of 120 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max crossovers.
AGR should also become the new owner of the Hyundai plant in St. Petersburg, although the deal has not been officially confirmed. GAC’s interest in Russian factories is curious, because in 2022 this brand sold only 437 cars in our country. This year the situation has improved due to the appearance of the newest three-row crossover GS8, but so far sales are in the hundreds: Great Wall, Chery, Geely and Changan are far ahead.
GAC is one of the five largest automakers in China; the concern has joint ventures with Toyota, Honda and Stellantis. Next year they promised to bring three new GAC models to Russia: the GS3 compact crossover, the M8 premium minivan and an as-yet unnamed all-terrain vehicle.
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