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On September 30, 2011 in St. Petersburg there was held a round table «Automotive industry development. Investments. Localization. Latest technologies: the car of the future - petrol, gas, hybrid or electric»?

05.10.2011

On September 30, 2011 in St. Petersburg within the frameworks of the IV St.Petersburg International Innovation Forum there was held a round table «Automotive industry development. Investments. Localization. Latest technologies: the car of the future - petrol, gas, hybrid or electric»?

Sergey Zimin, Deputy Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President of the Russian  Federation to the North-West Federal district, Regional Commissioner for assisting business entities in implementation of private investment projects in the North-West Federal District, in his welcoming speech to the participants of Round table mentioned that «Organization of industrial manufacturing is an essential component of socio-economic development of any territory and, in particular, Saint-Petersburg and North-West Federal District, which has a high potential for the automotive industry development». One of the main components of success of this policy is increasing of the investment attractiveness of regions, including increase through the integration of industrial enterprises and development of cluster policy.

Deputy Director of the Department of Automotive Industry and Agricultural Engineering of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Alexey Zhidyaev noted the importance of innovative development of Russian automotive industry, which, in its turn, is the engine of related industries development, and opens new perspectives for innovative development of domestic industrial enterprises.

It is pleased to note that Russia is one of the leaders of the world innovative automotive developments.

General Director of St. Petersburg company «¸-AUTO» Andrey Biryukov, who had just came back from a major international motor show in Frankfurt, where the presentation of a hybrid concept «¸-AUTO» was successfully hold, shared with colleagues about trends of the international market for automotive innovation, and noted several advantages of hybrid vehicles that run on natural gas. According to A. Biryukov, «Gas is a fuel of the future. This choice is obvious. We are a gas country, gas is more environmentally friendly. Thus the development pipeline and domestic consumption eliminates the threats that we have with external gas supply». Environmental friendliness and minimizing of investment in new infrastructure development are important factors in determining future technologies.
All the world's leading automotive brands without exception have latest developments in their arsenal. Dmitry Mikhailov, General Director of LLC «Nissan Manufacturing RUS», told about the benefits of electric car and presented the latest development Nissan LEAF.

Developments in the field of urban transport were not ignored. Thus, according to Chief  Designer of the oil and gas complex, KAMAZ (representative office in St.Petersburg), Alexander Malyuga, today «KAMAZ» in cooperation with «Gazprom» is implementing a program on gas stations creation to provide the infrastructure for energy saving and increasing the efficiency of urban transport on natural gas. The need for investment is clear. Andrey Korotkov, Director of «St.Petersburg State establishment city agency for industrial investments», believes that for the further successful development of the automobile industry in close contact with automakers it is necessary to develop educational programs using the potential of profile universities of St. Petersburg. Only by joint efforts of science, business and government we can create high-tech products with high added value, maximizing consequently the added value of the entire chain of vehicles manufacturing.

Russian automotive market is still an object of great interest for investors and global industrial corporations. In St. Petersburg there are such companies as Nissan, Toyota, Hyundai, General Motors, Scania. Leningrad region (Ford plant) and Kaliningrad region (Avtotor plant) are also playing an active role in the North-West. One of the main factors for successful development of the domestic automotive market is creation of a multilevel industrial network of automotive components suppliers. «Magna» company was one of the first of the global manufacturers of automotive components who came to the domestic market. Vadim Ustinov, Regional Director of «Magna International», shared his views on competition in the market for the production of automotive components and the difficulties encountered in adapting the company in Russian market.

Speaking about global issues of the Russian automotive industry development, participants of the Round table could not ignore the location issues and readiness of the Russian industry to produce high-tech products for the automotive industry. A striking example of high capacity of domestic industry was the launch of a new industrial plant for the production of stamped components «MMK- Interkos». Director on strategic Development of «Interkos – IV», Boris Lazebnik noted the importance of the localization process and the availability of their own national competencies for the creation a high-tech products for the automotive industry. «In order to accelerate the localization process and increase tax revenues to the city budget it is necessary to have its technology from development to final product, to begin work from the university to production platforms».

Participants of the Round table wished success to the new enterprise of the automotive complex of St. Petersburg which realizes the production of silencers in St. Petersburg – «Eberspeher Exhaust Systems RUS».

Thus Round Table played a role of a platform for representatives of the government and industry professionals to discuss the most current trends, international experience, current state and prospects of the automotive clusters development.