Russia is ready to purchase a record batch of Belarusian buses. Last week, the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Maxim Reshetnikov, announced at a joint meeting with colleagues from the Ministry of Economy of Belarus that the purchase of four thousand buses is being considered. Although the specific Belarusian supplier is not named, it is most likely referring to products from the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ), according to Motor.ru.
In recent years, Belarusian buses have rarely been purchased by Russian state customers, as preference was given to domestically produced vehicles. However, at the moment, factories such as NefAZ, LiAZ, and Volgabas are loaded with orders, and the process of expanding their production capacity is slow due to a shortage of personnel.
The Minsk Automobile Plant was one of the first to face sanctions, so already in 2022, it prepared a line of import-substituted city buses of a modern low-floor type. A possible contract for 4,000 vehicles can be considered a record. For comparison, the entire fleet of city buses in Kazan is about 800 units. It has not yet been specified which regions may receive MAZ buses and what class of vehicles is being discussed.
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