Ford May Supply Europe with Vehicles from Russia

Ford Motor Co. says it’s “definitely possible” that its Russian venture with OSJC Sollers will soon begin supplying Europe with cars and/or crossover vehicles.

Ford Sollers CEO Adil Shirinov tells Automotive News Europe that entering the western European market would help stabilize production at the venture’s three assembly plants in Naberezhnye Cheiny, St. Petersburg and Yelabuga.

The Ford Sollers facilities currently assemble a variety of cars, SUV/crossover and vans. They also began exporting modest volumes of vehicles to such former Soviet countries as Belarus and Kazakhstan during Russia’s four-year sales slump that began in 2013.

Demand for Ford vehicles in Russia climbed 11% to a record 130,800 units in 2012. But the company’s volume plunged to 42,500 units by 2016 as the overall market shrank 51%.

Ford’s sales last year rebounded 18% to 50,400 units in a market that expanded 12%, according to the Moscow-based Assn. of European Businesses. LMC Automotive tells ANE that the Russian government is likely to grant local carmakers incentives to hike exports, in part by easing its 60% local content rule for such vehicles.​​​​​