Russians bypass boycott
Striking news from Russia: despite the fact that Stellantis withdrew from that country after the invasion of Ukraine, Citroëns are being built again. The Russians have found a workaround.
Citroën have been built again since this week in a factory previously run by Citroën itself near the Russian capital Moscow. That reports Reuters based on a statement from Russian Automotive Technologies. The Citroën C5 Aircross rolls off the production line again. While Stellantis has withdrawn from Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. How is that possible? Well, in short, thanks to China.
According to Reuters the Russians purchase the parts needed for the Citroën C5 Aircross from the Chinese Dongfeng. That Chinese state-owned company has a Chinese joint venture with Stellantis and it builds the Citroën C5 Aircross for the Chinese market. After all, trade continues happily between China and Russia and the C5 Aircross can therefore also be obtained from there.
The Russian car industry actually still exists mainly thanks to China. For example, Lada now also builds Chinese models and prints its own logo on them. Russia has even become the most important export market for China. Stellantis stated in February Reuters that it no longer has control over what happens in Russia. It may still influence what Dongfeng is doing now, but there are no signs yet that this will be stopped.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl