On November 14, the Kazan Expo IEC hosted a session of the Interregional Specialized Equipment Exchange “Moscow (Russia) – Beijing (China)” on the topic: “Prospects for cooperation in the automotive industry between Russia and China” as part of the International Forum “ROSTKI: Russia and China – mutually beneficial cooperation”. The co-organizer was the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tatarstan.
The session discussed issues of international and interregional cooperation in the field of supply of special equipment, trucks, cars and commercial vehicles of Chinese manufacture, logistics, sales, competitive environment, protection of domestic manufacturers of attachments based on Chinese (chassis, platform), as well as the role of SMEs in the development of sales and supply of spare parts.
Oleg Moskovsky, Member of the Board and Council of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, President of the Interregional Exchange of Special Equipment “Moscow – Beijing” and Marat Akhmatov, Deputy Chairman of the Union “Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tatarstan” addressed the participants with a welcoming speech.
The speeches were continued by guests from the People’s Republic of China – Jia Yingke – Member of the Government of Jiangsu Province, Department of Commerce of Jiangsu Province, representative of Jiangsu Province in the Russian Federation, Ke Jin – President of the Logistics Committee of the Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Russia LDK group Managing Director of the company and Liu Yakun – Director of the mechanical engineering department of PJSC “KIFA”, having covered the issues of development of transport infrastructure, efficient supply and distribution of auto components, revealed the nuances of importing auto parts, equipment and special equipment from China. Oleg Moskovsky, Member of the Board and Council of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, President of the Interregional Exchange of Specialized Equipment “Moscow – Beijing” made a report on the topic: “Interregional Exchange of Specialized Equipment “Moscow – Beijing” as a tool for “Direct Contact” offline sales of specialized equipment and vehicles”, the moderator also thanked the organizers for the opportunity to discuss the prospects for international cooperation between the Russian and Chinese auto industry at the site of the international Forum “ROSTKI”.
“In the period 2023-2024, five Interregional Exchanges were held in the cities of Moscow, Chelyabinsk, Kazan, St. Petersburg and the Federal Territory “Sirius”, a Register of Recommended Suppliers of the Exchange was created, cooperation with large automobile associations, trade and exhibition automobile complexes and large industrial enterprises in the cities of Russia was built. The priority is the development of the “Agency for Specialized Equipment and Motor Transport”, the main tasks of which are: development and support of agents in the regions of the Russian Federation; assistance in the practical introduction of new proposals to the Russian market; assistance in product certification, assistance in international industrial cooperation. We invite Chinese colleagues and representatives from the regions of the Russian Federation to actively interact,” said Oleg Moskovsky. Anton Agaltsov, Director of the Avito Special Equipment Sales Category, spoke about the role of online platforms in the promotion and sale of special equipment on the Russian market. Avito is No. 1 in terms of traffic among classifieds sites – the largest classifieds of special equipment in the Russian Federation with 1,200,000 users per day and currently accounts for 14% of the market share in new equipment. Compared to 2022, the share of Chinese brands this year has grown from 6 to 63 percent, the company’s priority is to focus on selling new equipment, increasing buyer confidence in ads and stimulating transactions.
Ekaterina Voloshina, Founder and CEO of FDL Global, spoke about the prospects for industrial international cooperation in the automotive industry. “Technological exchange between countries is a priority: the development of modern production process management systems and the use of Chinese technologies for the robotization of Russian enterprises. A new round of integration could be the localization of the production of auto components and electric vehicles, the production of trucks and commercial vehicles using Chinese technologies, as well as the release of cars under joint brands adapted to Russian conditions,” the speaker said.
The success story of the development of Russian-Chinese partnership in the field of special equipment using the example of SANY was presented by Vyacheslav Lyadov, General Director of SANY LLC in Russia. SANY is the only private company of this scale in China in the special equipment manufacturing industry, occupying a leading position and one of the youngest Chinese companies in the construction industry. Over 35 years, the company has grown 360 times and at the moment, SANY’s capitalization is $37 billion. The company is also a leader in digitalization, innovation and industry, 14 factories in China have the status of lighthouse factory (Mayak Plant).
Sergey Weiner, Member of the Board of Directors of the Avtopole Group of Companies, St. Petersburg, made a report “Experience and advantages of a classic dealer village”, reporting that
AVTOPOLE is one of the largest auto villages in Russia, 11 buildings and 18 operating showrooms for the sale of cars and motorcycles, its own warehouse of new and used cars (up to 4,000 parking spaces), 25 official dealerships and more than 270,000 counterparties. Avtopole Group of Companies ranks 20th among 100 dealer holdings in Russia and 1st in St. Petersburg and the Northwestern Federal District of the Russian Federation in terms of total revenue based on the results of 2023.
The final speech was made by a representative of a large enterprise of the Republic of Tatarstan, KAN AVTO Group of Companies. Alexey Tarasov, Member of the Board of the Company, spoke about the transition of Russian buyers to Chinese cars, for example, as of July 1, 2024, 1.86 million passenger cars of Chinese brands were registered in Russia, more than 60% of Chinese cars in Russia are not older than 3 years. The number of dealerships and new car brands of Chinese manufacture also increased by 30 percent. An important factor is that at the moment the company employs 2,531 employees and the portfolio of the group of companies includes 26 car brands.
Following the session, the following decisions were made:
1. To create a collegial body “Council for the Development of Strategic Partnership in the Field of Special Equipment and Motor Transport” in order to develop bilateral recommendations for strengthening international and interregional cooperation in the field of supplies of special equipment, trucks, cars and commercial vehicles of Chinese manufacture, searching for new sales markets (the first meeting is to be held on December 12, 2024 in Moscow). 2. Work out the issue of prospective construction of a showroom for special equipment and motor vehicles in the Republic of Tatarstan and the Chelyabinsk Region.
3. Recommend that representatives of industrial enterprises from China use the platform of the Interregional Exchange of Special Equipment “Moscow (Russia) – Beijing (China)” to enter the Russian market.