Production will be restarted in the fourth quarter of 2024 at the former Isuzu plant located in Ulyanovsk. This was announced by Zoya Kaika, Deputy General Director of Sollers, at the Innoprom exhibition in Yekaterinburg.
We will restart the production of trucks there, which in terms of class and technical characteristics are very close analogues to the Isuzu line that was produced on the Russian market.
She emphasized that the company is focused on the production of medium-duty vehicles. An Asian partner will provide the platform for production to Sollers. It seems that there are no other foreign partners for the Russian automotive market besides those from China.
According to the top manager, a line of cars, representing five to six models, will be shown in the fall. Kaika emphasized that this platform has not been presented on the Russian market.
As a reminder, Isuzu trucks have been officially sold in Russia since 2006. The plant in Ulyanovsk has been operating since 2012. The Japanese automaker stopped production of trucks and pickups in Russia in March 2022, and finally left the Russian market in June 2023. After that, Sollers bought the Isuzu Rus enterprise from the Japanese company Isuzu.
It should be noted that after the departure of foreign automakers from the Russian market, Sollers reoriented itself to the production of cars from China. Trucks from the Middle Kingdom are assembled at the plant in Yelabuga (the former Ford plant).
The company also plans to restart the former Mazda plant in the Far East. Judging by everything, Chinese equipment will also be produced there. Another asset of PJSC Sollers is the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant. They produce UAZ "Patriot", "Bukhanka", "Hunter", "Profi" and "Pickup".
Read more on the topic:
Sollers ST8 Pickup, Another JAC Clone, Shown in Russia