“We need to help somehow.” Putin spoke about Germany destroying its auto industry

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the situation in the German automotive industry.

At the “Russia” exhibition at VDNKh, one of those accompanying the Russian leader told him the story of Nikolai Cristofari, the first client of savings banks. While Cristofari was traveling in Germany, his pocket watch broke. He went to repair them in the workshop where young Karl Benz, who later created the first car powered by an internal combustion engine, worked.

The person who spoke about this joked that “one can categorically and without hesitation say that the German auto industry began with us, we are sponsors and investors.”

They saw a second chance for the Russian auto industry

Earlier, the head of the Federation Council Committee on Regulations, Vyacheslav Timchenko, pointed out that, having taken the path of cooperation with Western companies in the passenger car industry, the Russians found themselves hostage to the situation and are now forced to make up for lost time.

In December 2023, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said that the Russian auto industry had received a second chance and this time it would definitely take advantage of it. According to him, we are talking about “joint production with Chinese partners,” whose industry is now one of the leading in the world, and the partners themselves “behave very correctly.”

The minister explained that Western manufacturers who left the Russian market did not primarily consider the possibility of using local products, but now the auto components industry is being revived in the country. “Recreating quantity and concentrating on component production is a mandatory step, which, as it seemed to us, we had implemented with our Western colleagues,” Manturov outlined the tasks of the industry.

In August 2023, Putin proposed that all Russian officials switch to domestic cars. According to the president, the use of Russian automobile industry products by civil servants will improve their quality, so there should be no purchases of foreign cars.

In Russia they proposed to develop the auto industry following the example of the USSR

On January 19, the Russian Auto Dealers Association (RoAD) proposed creating a special state corporation responsible for the development of the domestic automotive industry, under the code name Rosavto. RoAD President Alexey Podshchekoldin suggested that such a structure could plan the production of cars and components, develop new models and technologies, and distribute orders between enterprises. Personnel training, along with issues of interaction between industry participants, should also be given to the state corporation level. The expert referred to the example of the USSR Ministry of Automotive Industry, but added that in the current conditions, state corporations essentially have the same functions and powers, and changes in the government are more difficult to implement.

Currently, the key aspects of the development of the automotive industry in Russia are spelled out in the industry strategy authored by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The document was approved at the end of 2022. It involves stimulating production and demand through government support, so that ultimately market needs are met with cars that are at least 80 percent localized. Thus, it is proposed to achieve technological sovereignty. For these purposes, as noted in the strategy, a total of 2.7 trillion rubles must be invested in the auto industry until 2035.