Russia is establishing a Soviet-era Moskvich car label using a former Renault plant

November 28, 2022: On Wednesday, Production of the Soviet-era Moskvich car has relaunched in Russia at a former Renault factory, truckmaker Kamaz said.

The renamed Moscow Automobile Plant Moskvich anticipated producing 600 cars by t2022, 200 of which will be electric. Reports say the car design is Chinese and be changed from the original Moskvich. The vehicles should be available to buy in December, Kamaz noted in a press release.

The factory is good at an eight-year agreement with Kamaz to manufacture domestically-produced vehicles. In 2023 nearly 50,000 cars will be gathered; 10,000 will be electric, according to the statement, after 100,000, a fifth of which is going electric, in 2024.

The relaunch comes as Russia is striving for a self-sufficient economy. The country’s finances will be choked by Western and other ramifications of its invasion of Ukraine.

By industry standards, the factory will only be churning out cars slowly in the completing couple of years. Tesla’s Shanghai plant is expected to produce over 750,000 cars in 2022, while Toyota’s giant plant in Kentucky can produce 550,000 vehicles annually.

Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated in May that the factory would be used for launching the famous cars following Renault’s selling its Russian assessment to the state.

The French manufacturer owns a majority stake in carmaker Avtovaz before selling it off for just one Russian rouble with a six-year option to repurchase. Renault Russia is selling to the state for the token sum.

Sobyanin added the decision to take over Renault’s planning was a move to preserve thousands of jobs.

CEO of Renault Luca de Meo added the decision to sell was “difficult but necessary” and was the “okay choice towards the 45,000 employees in Russia.”

The Moskvich car brand was a means of pride for Russia’s capital in 1946, with the name changing to “Moscovite” or “native of Moscow.” Still, the cars’ popularity is fading after the decrease of Communism and the Soviet Union. The manufacturer was then declared bankrupt in 2006.