Although the revival of the legendary Volga car brand in Russia is an essentially positive moment, today, ironically, it would be more correct to call these cars “Yangtze”. There is zero level of localization in its production, the Volgas is already based on existing models of the Chinese brand Geely and is mass-assembled in Russia using only vehicle kits from China.
Image source: Volga River.
To put it mildly, the situation is not ideal, because the import tariffs on Volga car kits are retained, and the final price of the officially domestically produced cars is the same as the price of “original cars” imported from China represented by Geely. Therefore, the significance of buying a Volga for a simple buyer (not a fleet of taxis or a commercial organization) is so unobvious that it seems non-existent.
The manufacturer understands this and is obviously no worse than us, so he plans to gradually implement localized production. Therefore, Nizhny Novgorod Passenger Car Production JSC (PLA) now produces Volga gasoline at the plant of a former enterprise that produced Volkswagen and Skoda brand cars, plan In 2028, the car’s 2-liter gasoline turbine engine and 8-speed automatic transmission will be domestically produced.
It is reported that after the project is completed, the localization level of key automotive parts will reach 80%. It is unclear which engine and gearbox parts will continue to be imported. It’s unclear whether anything else will be localized: such as stamping of body parts, production of electronics, seats, glass and other components.