Russia wants its own premium brand

Despite the enormous social inequalities the country suffers, Russia is an unavoidable market for the jet set of Western manufacturers. Over the years, the German triad Audi-BMW-Mercedes-Benz has won over most of the wealthy Russian customers. And that would not be a problem, until the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Government, Denis Manturov, has set his mind on putting an end to that dominance.

Manturov has expressed the wish of Russia’s upper spheres to create a new national luxury brand. Right now, that concept is associated in the country with ZiL, the maker of armoured saloons intended for heads of state and other officials. But Manturov has clarified that what they are looking for is a brand more in the style of the German ones, with a range of products large enough to attract a wider audience.

The request has been addressed not only to ZiL but also to two other powerful Russian car companies: Marussia Motors, which is gaining fame both on and off the racing circuits, and the industrial giant GAZ. Manturov wants them to draw up realistic proposals to present to the Kremlin so that Putin’s Executive can study them. The minister went further and declared to the official government newspaper, Rossiiskaya Gazeta: “I hope that by the end of the first half (of the year) we will have a perspective on which scenario we want to take”.

The responses have been rather cold and brief. The spokespeople of the three firms have either said that they “will consider it” or, like GAZ, prefer not to take a position until the Russian government has a clearer idea of what it wants specifically. What is clear is that Russia’s newest baby will have to get its act together even before it is born. It needs to catch up with German rivals whose sales in the Russian premium market grew in 2012 by 29% in the case of Mercedes-Benz, 33% in BMW and 44% in Audi.

Source | Automotive News Europe