Leading Russian automotive company GAZ and the maker of Russia's "other car", the Volga saloon, is to get RUB16bn ($281mn) in state guarantees.
"The state guarantees for GAZ are in the end stage. That is that all the necessary measures … have been taken. The company will receive these guarantees soon," Trade Minister Denis Manturov said at a conference on June 4, reports the Moscow Times.
Russia's car market has been hard hit this year by a combination of a slowing economy and tumbling real incomes, despite the first signs of a bottoming out in the last month. light commercial vehicles (LCV) sales down by 42% in April y/y to 132,000 unites, according to the May 13 release of the Association of European Businesses (AEB) that compiles industry data. In the first four months of this year, a total of 516,000 cars were sold.
April's plunge in sales follows a 36% y/y LCV sales contraction in Q1 and 42% in March alone. In January, AEB believed that car sales for 2015 overall will shrink by 25%.
The government is trying to stop the rot with various subsidies to both producers and on interest rates for car loans to support the sector.
Euroclear has cautioned EU officials about potential risks linked to plans to use frozen Russian assets as collateral for loans to Ukraine, reported Ukraine Business News. ... more
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recorded a video address to the nation saying Kyiv faces a difficult choice: the country could lose its dignity by accepting the plan, or it could refuse and ... more
A Turkish LPG carrier docked at the port of Izmail, Ukraine, was hit by a Russian drone during an attack, sparking a fire on the vessel, which has now been extinguished. According to the Maritime ... more