According to the production plan of the Czech brand, the production of the Octavia liftback and three crossovers – Kodiaq, Kamiq and Karoq – will be organized at the facilities of a joint venture with the Kazakh Allur. Skoda is betting on the SUV segment and expects that the listed models “will resonate with customers in this region.” The automaker plans to increase its market share in Kazakhstan to five percent. For comparison, Skoda occupied the same share in Russia in pre-Covid 2019.
The fact that Skoda signed an agreement with the Kazakh automobile company Allur to create a joint venture in Kostanay became known in early October. At the same time, it was reported that investments in the project would amount to 26 billion tenge (almost 51.7 million euros): this money would be used to organize the production of cars and create a dealer network of the Czech brand. Now the specifics have appeared: the joint venture’s conveyor belt will include four models: Octavia, Kamiq, Karoq and Kodiaq, which recently changed generations.
Skoda
As soon as the assembly of cars starts, Skoda will begin to actively develop its dealer network – the first fifteen car dealerships will open in major cities of the country, Astana, Almaty, Shymkent and Kostanay. Localization of Skoda car production and sales in Kazakhstan will allow the Volkswagen concern to some extent make up for losses from leaving the Russian market and selling the plant in the Kaluga region, where Tiguan, Polo and Skoda Rapid were assembled.
It is worth noting that this is not the first attempt by Skoda to localize the production of cars in Kazakhstan. In 2017, Skoda had an assembly agreement with Asia Auto, but four years later, in 2021, production was curtailed due to problems between the plant owner and the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan.
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