Sollers announced today the restart of engine production in the Alabuga special economic zone. The Industrial Development Fund (IDF) allocated a preferential loan of 1.7 billion rubles for the organization of this project.
JAC HFC4D turbodiesels (licensed copy of Isuzu) with a volume of 2.0-2.7 liters, a chain-driven timing belt and a cast-iron cylinder head will be produced at the former Ford plant in Alabuga. The youngest of them will be installed on the UAZ Patriot from May 2024. Previously, the Ulyanovsk plant considered purchasing the Indian Mahindra mHawk EV diesel or the Chinese BAIC Yuchai YC4Y, but settled on the JAC HFC4D.
This news has already been commented on by the editor-in-chief of the Za Rulem publication, Maxim Kadakov. "The project envisages cooperation with other automakers and suppliers - for the sake of unification of the component base and utilization of capacities for casting and machining. It is planned to purchase new equipment for the engine assembly shop, the test bench area, the cylinder head machining line, and the crankshaft production. They are talking about "localization of basic parts and all key technological operations." There is no exact list of these basic parts yet," he said.