Russia will start producing Aurus luxury cars this year, used as Vladimir Putin’s presidential limousine, at the former Toyota plant in St. Petersburg, the Kremlin leader’s hometown, Reuters reports.
Vladimir Putin getting ready to get into an Aurus Senat limousinePhoto: Gavriil Grigorov / AFP / Profimedia Images
The Aurus Senat model, modeled after the ZIL limousine used by Russian dignitaries during the Soviet era, is officially the car of the Russian presidency, with Putin even arriving in such a car on Tuesday at his investiture ceremony for a new term as president.
Putin gave such a luxury car as a gift to the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “as part of a strengthening of relations between the two countries”, according to the state media from Pyongyang.
Denis Manturov, Russia’s Minister of Industry and Trade, said on Tuesday that production of Aurus Senat cars should begin at the former Toyota plant in St. Petersburg by the end of this year.
The former Toyota factory in St. Petersburg became the property of the Russian state
Toyota transferred the plant to the Russian state-owned company NAMI (Central Research and Development Institute of Automobiles and Engines), which holds a majority share in the Aurus car manufacturer, in March last year.
In September 2022, the Japanese automaker decided to stop vehicle production in Russia due to supply chain disruptions.
Aurus Motors began producing cars in 2021 in the Tatarstan region, about 1,000 kilometers east of Moscow.
Russia is scrambling to find ways to restart factories that major automakers sold as part of their plans to leave the country after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, or that Moscow nationalized to prevent their assets from being transferred.
According to the Russian consulting firm Autostat, 40 Aurus cars were sold in Russia this year.
Tags: VIDEO Russia produce Putins limousine Toyota plant Petersburg
