Putin's "Limousine Diplomacy": How the President Promotes Domestic Premium Automotive Industry with Joint Trips with Leaders of Other Countries

After the parade in Beijing, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un used one car for a trip to negotiations. The armored Aurus of the President of Russia has already witnessed such joint movement: at the recent summit in Tianjin, Putin also traveled to a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the same car.

This gesture is certainly symbolic, emphasizing the close relationship between the two leaders and their states.

Aurus, as a representative of the Russian luxury automotive industry, is not just a means of transportation in this case, but also a kind of symbol of mutual respect.

It is worth recalling that Kim Jong-un has his own Aurus car, which was presented to him by Vladimir Putin after his visit to Russia.

As a general rule, leaders of countries arrive at international summits each in their own limousine. This has been the custom for many decades. Vladimir Putin set a new trend: first he rode in Trump's car in Alaska. Now he did the same maneuver in Tianjin, but already put Narendra Modi in his Aurus.

Despite having his own car, Mr. Modi was provided with a Hongqi L limousine from his Chinese colleagues, a model similar to the one used by Xi Jinping. Although Modi is familiar with the Russian Aurus, in which he traveled at the BRICS summit in Kazan in 2024, a different aspect is important here. An ordinary trip between objects, even if it is made only between two leaders, takes on special significance when it comes to heads of state.

The limousine used for trips together creates ideal conditions for confidential communication and at the same time serves as a showcase for the domestic premium automotive industry.

Putin, with joint trips with leaders of other countries, set a trend for what has already been dubbed "limousine diplomacy," and it does not allow ambiguity. When two leaders violate the established order and spend a long time together in a car (as, for example, Putin and Modi, who talked in the Aurus for about an hour), this is usually a bad sign for their opponents.

The Aurus car is positioned as a competitor to leading global brands in the premium car segment.

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