OREANDA-NEWS  Kaliningrad plant "Avtotor", where BMW, KIA and Hyundai cars used to be assembled, has started producing cars of the Chinese brand BAIC. According to the press service of the company, the BAIC X35 crossover and the BAIC U5 plus sedan were the first to go into production.

Now cars are produced in the mode of industrial assembly on the basis of a welded and painted body with partial localization of spare parts. During the year, the Russian plant intends to localize the production of batteries, glasses, bumpers, wheels and tires, seats and other components, but so far the components are delivered from China. In 2024, Avtotor plans to use domestic paint and varnish materials and stamping.

The start of sales of the BAIC X35 and BAIC U5 plus is scheduled for the second quarter of 2023. By the end of 2023, the Russian plant intends to release five more brand models to the Russian market. Some of them will be equipped with an electric motor, the company noted.

Avtotor started working on Chinese cars in December 2022. According to the governor of the Kaliningrad region Anton Alikhanov, the company has signed contracts with three brands. However, he did not mention which cars will be produced at the plant.

In January 2023, it became known that Kaiyi E5 sedans would be one of the first to come off the assembly lines of the company. These cars were supposed to go on sale in the first quarter. At this stage, experts warned that logistics will affect the price of cars — parts for the plant are transported through Far Eastern ports, from where they get to St. Petersburg, and then by ferry to Kaliningrad. The company promised that the new sedans will cost about one million rubles.