The only way Russia can rescue its automotive industry: assembly under license.
There's nothing shameful about it—Japan, South Korea, and China all took this path in their time.
May 6, Pervyy Rossiyanin published an article.
Russia's automotive industry has been assigned a rather pragmatic, though not particularly ambitious, development scenario.
Specifically, this means betting on licensed assembly—not of the latest models, but of previous-generation vehicles.
To some experts, this is currently not only feasible, but almost the only realistic option.
The logic behind licensed assembly inherently does not include producing cutting-edge models.
Instead, it typically involves vehicles that have already been discontinued or are at the end of their life cycle in major markets.
Experts emphasize: there's nothing frightening, embarrassing, or shameful about this—Japan, South Korea, and China all went through the same stage.
This perspective is largely rooted in the environment the industry has faced in recent years.
After 2022, the primary goal was no longer technological leadership, but restarting production: reactivating idle factories and meeting market demand with affordable cars.
To quickly address this issue, only simple, proven models could be relied upon, as they guarantee buyers.
That’s why market participants stress that negotiations with foreign partners follow a “take what’s available” principle.
Agreements to produce older-model vehicles are much simpler and faster to conclude.
At the same time, this approach allows prices to remain at a relatively acceptable level—a crucial factor amid declining purchasing power.
Meanwhile, experts acknowledge that for Russian consumers, price considerations often outweigh technological innovation.
For a large segment of buyers, the deciding factor isn't innovation level, but affordability and ease of maintenance.
Maksim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Steering Wheel magazine, points to another aspect: Russian manufacturers objectively cannot, in the short term, compete with the pace of model updates shown by Chinese companies.
At the same time, real changes are indeed taking place within the industry.
Cars assembled under licensing agreements are gradually being improved to better suit Russian conditions.
This includes both technical upgrades—such as enhanced suspension systems—and greater localization of production.
Thus, the licensed assembly model is gradually evolving: shifting from a simple "screwdriver" approach toward a more complex, more localized production model.
It is precisely because of this that talk of the automotive industry’s “only path forward” is growing increasingly frequent.
Under current circumstances, this appears less like an ideological choice and more like a forced strategy aimed at preserving the industry, maintaining capacity, and ensuring car supply in the market.
The question remains: will this path remain a temporary phase, or will it solidify into a long-term development model?
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1864395263237385/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author.