Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in China, where he met with the country's leader Xi Jinping. Pre-facelift Aurus Senat and Aurus Komendant models were delivered to China on separate flights for the presidential convoy.
This is an old limousine, which is clearly visible in the rare official shots. I think there simply wasn't enough time to deliver [the restyled version of Aurus to China - ed. note www1.ru].
Two Aurus Senat limousines, Aurus Komendant cars, and Aurus Arsenal escort vehicles were spotted in the presidential convoy.
Putin is accompanied on his foreign trip by two defense ministers, one former, one current — Sergei Shoigu and Andrei Belousov respectively, as well as First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina and Deputy Prime Ministers Alexander Novak and Dmitry Chernyshenko, as well as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The large number of Aurus cars is due to the large Russian delegation.
Note that transporting convoy vehicles to another country is a normal occurrence. For example, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also travels with his own transport on foreign trips. He has the same one as President Putin. The Russian leader gifted him an Aurus Senat. Chinese leader Xi Jinping also took a Hongqi N701 limousine with him to Washington, and American President Joe Biden enjoys using his Cadillac One abroad — that's the official name of the car.
As a reminder, the premiere of the restyled version of Aurus took place on May 7, the day of the president's inauguration: the car changed both externally and internally, but the engine remained the same. It is possible that the new Aurus at the factory in St. Petersburg will be assembled in partnership with FAW, whose limousine Xi Jinping uses.
Read more on the topic:
What the updated Aurus Senat looks like: car photo
Comrade Kim Jong-un does not part with his Aurus