South Korean companies were among Aurus’ largest suppliers.
Tbilisi:
Laughing and joking, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un toured Pyongyang last week in a Russian-made Aurus limousine to showcase their strengthened anti-Western alliance.
The luxury sedan was intended to epitomize Russia’s domestic prowess and reduce dependence on technology and imported goods when launched in 2018.
But customs records show that the company building it uses millions of dollars in imported parts, many of them arriving in Russia from what Kim described as his country’s “main enemy,” South Korea.
The imports point to Russia’s continued reliance on Western technology as it seeks to navigate Western attempts to isolate it from global supply chains as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.
The two leaders took turns driving the armored limousine during Putin’s pompous visit, the first in nearly a quarter of a century, to North Korea, in a demonstration of the increasingly close ties between the two nuclear powers.
Russia imported equipment and components worth at least $34 million between 2018 and 2023 to assemble Aurus cars and motorcycles, customs records seen by Reuters showed. Reuters does not have access to more recent data.
Imports included automobile body parts, sensors, programmable controllers, switches, welding equipment and other components worth nearly US$15.5 million imported from South Korea. Parts were also imported from China, India, Turkey, Italy and other EU countries.
Foreign supplies for the Aurus continued to arrive following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with goods worth nearly $16 million, including $5 million produced in South Korea, imported since February 2022, officials showed. records.
Reuters was unable to determine specifically which imported foreign parts ended up in the car gifted to Kim, and the imports did not violate sanctions – Aurus LLC was sanctioned by the United States in February 2024.
The Aurus sedan was developed by Russian state research institute NAMI in partnership with Russian automaker Sollers, which has since sold its stake.
Aurus Motors and its CEO Andrey Pankov did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the use of foreign parts, including from South Korea, in its vehicles.
Growing production
The company launched official production in the Russian region of Tatarstan, around 1,000 km (620 miles) from Moscow, in 2021 – before that, it was done on a small experimental scale at NAMI. Additional production will begin in St. Petersburg later this year at the former Toyota plant.
Toyota is one of many foreign automakers to exit the Russian market since the invasion, which Russia calls a “special military operation.”
The exodus left a gap that Chinese producers quickly filled, quickly capturing more than half of the market share and exposing Russia’s limited domestic production capacity.
South Korean companies were among Aurus’ biggest suppliers, including industrial equipment producer Kyungki Industrial Co, auto body parts maker BYT CO LTD and battery supplier Enertech International Inc.
Italian plastic parts producer Industrie Ilpea Spa and Hong Kong company Rain Electronics also supplied products.
An official at Kyungki Industrial Co confirmed that the company has supplied parts to Aurus LLC and continues to do so. The company is not concerned about possible sanctions, the official said, declining to elaborate.
Rain Electronics could not be reached for comment. When a Reuters correspondent visited the address listed online as the company’s Hong Kong office, there was no trace of Rain Electronics on the floor listed online or in the office building.
BYT CO LTD, Enertech International and Industrie Ilpea Spa did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The Aurus Senat, with retro styling inspired by the Soviet-era ZIL limousine, is Russia’s official presidential car and was used by Putin at his presidential inaugurations in 2018 and 2024.
Putin has now given Kim, who is believed to be a big car fan, two Aurus cars, first during Kim’s visit to Russia in February, and a slightly different model in North Korea in June.
Prices for Aurus cars – there are four models, including an SUV and an armored version – start at 46.625 million rubles ($528,356). Clients include President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdymukhamedov.
Aurus sold 107 cars in Russia in 2023, according to data from Russian analytical agency Autostat. Aurus does not disclose production figures.
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