Rumors that the Russian Toyota plant would start producing the E-Neva electric crossover developed by the Almaz-Antey defense concern turned out to be more than just rumors. Today it became known that the Obukhov Plant, which is part of Almaz-Antey, has become the management company of the former Toyota plant in St. Petersburg.
Now, the Obukhov Plant, under the patronage of Almaz-Antey, will be engaged in all operational activities of the enterprise and establish automobile production there. What kind of cars will be produced is already known. The first is the BAZ-S36A11 truck, developed by the Obukhov Plant itself. Its production will begin in 2024. And from 2026, it is planned to start production of E-Neva electric crossovers developed by Almaz-Antey.
However, it is unlikely that the enterprise will be completely monopolized by Almaz-Antey - after all, the capacities are large, and they need to be loaded with something. Obviously, neither the BAZ-S36A11 nor the E-Neva in quantities of several tens of thousands per year are needed by ordinary consumers. It is possible that the plant will establish the assembly of "Chinese cars", as is already being done at the Russian Nissan and Renault plants.
As a reminder, the state-owned JSC "Concern of Aerospace Defense "Almaz-Antey" is one of the largest defense industry enterprises, producing air defense equipment, including the latest S-500 air defense system.