What foreign cars will actually be produced under the brand name “Sollers”
- September 7, 2022
- 0
Sollers Auto announced that it will begin production of two new commercial vehicles at its industrial site in Tatarstan by the end of this year in lieu of
Sollers Auto announced that it will begin production of two new commercial vehicles at its industrial site in Tatarstan by the end of this year in lieu of the “frozen” Ford Transit assembly project. Portal “AutoVzglyad” found out the details.
Nikolai Sobolev, CEO of Sollers Auto, and Denis Manturov, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, pompously signed an agreement that paved the way for the production of new models of “commercial” foreign cars under the Sollers brand under the Eastern Economic Forum. This event wouldn’t have merited so much attention were it not for the sensationally short timeframe of the planned production launch.
Sobolev and Manturov promised almost in unison that this would happen before the end of 2022! Such as, “everything is on the ointment” and the total investment in the project deployed at the Sollers company in Alabuga is expected to be at the level of almost 10 billion rubles. According to some reports, the future production capacity will be 86,000 cars per year. For reference, we note that in 2021 the Russian joint venture of Sollers and Ford produced only 21,000 Transit.
The official statement states that over time Russia will introduce the production of diesel engines, the stamping of body parts, the production of key electronic modules, chassis elements and plastic products.
Most of the localization program will be carried out on the basis of pre-existing and emerging supply companies in the territory of the Alabuga Special Economic Zone. At this time, factory representatives and other “officials” are not disclosing details of specific models planned to be assembled under the Sollers brand. They are limited only to statements that cars with a gross weight of 2.5 to 4.5 tons – cabover and semi-hood cars.
– It is reasonably realistic to start production of two new commercial platforms based on Sollers’ facilities by the end of 2022. In addition, such projects are now important from a political point of view, – says car expert Alexander Pikulenko.
According to him, the task of organizing the assembly quickly is greatly simplified thanks to Sollers Auto’s long-standing collaboration with the Japanese Isuzu and the Chinese JAC.
– Components can be imported into Tatarstan through the Kazakh channel. And also to attract Iranian companies as suppliers, in addition to other counterparties,” explains Pikulenko.
Such a version has the right to life. As candidates for production on the assembly lines of Sollers Auto, two models are presented that are almost without alternative. First of all, this is a small tonnage Isuzu Elf. It clearly fits the 4.5 tonne criterion. And it has a cabover setup – the engine is under the cab.
The second contender for Russian localization is most likely JAC N25. This is a machine with a gross weight of up to 2.5 tons with a half hood layout. Both externally and in technical characteristics, it is very similar to the light truck Hyundai Porter, which is widespread in Russia. In addition, we may be talking about another Chinese model – JAC Sunray (a direct competitor of Ford Transit). It is available as an all-metal van and as a passenger version with 15 seats. True, it is embarrassing that the curb weight of the car is 2.9 tons. Which clearly does not correspond to the 2.5 and 4.5 tons future Sollers vehicles mentioned above.
Note that in the domestic market, until recently, both Isuzu Elf and JAC N25 were presented mainly in the variants of low-loaders and chassis for the installation of special equipment – the same elevators, vans and refrigerators. It is possible that over time, after being converted to Sollers, the models will also receive all-metal van-type bodies, as well as passenger modifications. This allows them to fully compete with Gorky’s Gazelles.
photo isuzu-axis.ru
photo jac-rus.ru
Nikolai Sobolev, CEO of Sollers Auto, and Denis Manturov, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, pompously signed an agreement that paved the way for the production of new models of “commercial” foreign cars under the Sollers brand under the Eastern Economic Forum. This event wouldn’t deserve so much attention were it not for the sensationally short timeframe of the planned production launch.
Sobolev and Manturov promised almost in unison that this would happen before the end of 2022! Such as, “everything is confused” and the total investment in the project deployed at the Sollers company in Alabuga is expected to be at the level of almost 10 billion rubles. According to some reports, the future production capacity will be 86,000 cars per year. For reference, we note that in 2021 the Russian joint venture of Sollers and Ford produced only 21,000 Transit.
The official statement states that over time Russia will introduce the production of diesel engines, the stamping of body parts, the production of key electronic modules, chassis elements and plastic products.
Most of the localization program will be carried out on the basis of pre-existing and emerging supplier companies in the territory of the Alabuga Special Economic Zone. At this time, factory representatives and other “officials” are not disclosing details of specific models planned to be assembled under the Sollers brand. They are limited only to statements that cars with a gross weight of 2.5 to 4.5 tons – cabover and half hood cars.
– It is reasonably realistic to start production of two new commercial platforms based on Sollers’ facilities by the end of 2022. In addition, such projects are now important from a political point of view, – says car expert Alexander Pikulenko.
According to him, the task of organizing the assembly quickly is greatly simplified thanks to Sollers Auto’s long-standing collaboration with the Japanese Isuzu and the Chinese JAC.
– Components can be imported into Tatarstan through the Kazakh channel. And also to attract Iranian companies as suppliers, in addition to other counterparties,” explains Pikulenko.
Such a version has the right to life. As candidates for production on the assembly lines of Sollers Auto, two models are presented that are almost without alternative. First of all, this is a small tonnage Isuzu Elf. It clearly fits the 4.5 tonne criterion. And it has a cabover setup – the engine is under the cab.
The second contender for Russian localization is most likely JAC N25. This is a machine with a gross weight of up to 2.5 tons with a half hood layout. Both externally and in technical characteristics, it is very similar to the light truck Hyundai Porter, which is widespread in Russia. In addition, we may be talking about another Chinese model – JAC Sunray (a direct competitor of Ford Transit). It is available as an all-metal van and as a passenger version with 15 seats. True, it is embarrassing that the curb weight of the car is 2.9 tons. Which clearly does not correspond to the 2.5 and 4.5 tons future Sollers vehicles mentioned above.
Note that in the domestic market, until recently, both Isuzu Elf and JAC N25 were presented mainly in the variants of low-loaders and chassis for the installation of special equipment – the same elevators, vans and refrigerators. It is possible that over time, after being converted to Sollers, the models will also receive all-metal van-type bodies, as well as passenger modifications. This allows them to fully compete with Gorky’s Gazelles.
Source: Avto Vzglyad
I’m Sandra Torres, a passionate journalist and content creator. My specialty lies in covering the latest gadgets, trends and tech news for Div Bracket. With over 5 years of experience as a professional writer, I have built up an impressive portfolio of published works that showcase my expertise in this field.
