The FINANCIAL — Several Russian car manufacturers have asked the government to introduce a minimum assembly requirement for foreign producers of 300,000 cars per year by 2013-2014, Russian business daily Kommersant said on April 19.
Kommersant said a group of car manufacturers, including French Renault, Fiat partner Sollers and Russian AvtoVAZ, has requested that requirements be tightened for foreign investors.
If it came into force, foreign car producers would have to have exclusive intellectual property rights on cars and motors produced in Russia. This means Western auto concerns would have to open their own engineering centers in Russia.
These proposals would not deal with already operating automobile concerns because they signed agreements to regulate their work in Russia in 2006-2007, which cannot be changed. A project between Peugeot – Citroen and Hyundai, due to start in 2010, will also escape the proposed changes.
However, the majority of car assembly agreements are due in 2013-2014 and the car manufacturers requesting the new requirements believe agreements signed after 2013-2014 should include the new amendments.
Sources at the Ministry of Economics have already criticized the project, saying it would only be advantageous to its instigators. The Ministry of Industry and foreign auto concerns have not commented.
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