KAMAZ intends to double the production of electric buses
Today, 400 KAMAZ electric buses are already running on Moscow lines, and half of them were delivered during 2020. “I admit that I have always treated passenger transport as an auxiliary direction for KAMAZ, but we have managed to make equipment that has become a technological leader in the domestic market. We now have the opportunity to enter the Moscow market. This has changed both the scale of the business and the degree of our respect for our own product, - said Sergey Kogogin, General Director of KAMAZ. - In regions for which the price remains a key factor, sophisticated equipment is not really needed, but although electric buses are more expensive, they give a head start in terms of their characteristics. The Neftekamsk plant has already fulfilled the annual business plan both in terms of production volume - 1,560 units were made - and in terms of money. It produces eight pieces per day, but next year we are going to double production. ”
KAMAZ also has a program providing for the further development of innovative transport. For example, within the framework of this direction, a 9-meter electric bus has already been designed, and an 18-meter one has been assembled and is being tested. “The next one will be an 18-meter electric bus. I am pleased that both electric buses and buses travel the streets of our capital. This business is becoming important to us. We expect that its turnover will exceed 30 billion. Considering that our company expects about 250 billion from the K5 program, the passenger transport segment will already provide more than 10% of the main product, and this is significant, ”explained Sergey Kogogin.
In addition, the reconstruction of the Sokolnichesky Carriage Repair and Construction Plant (SVARZ), which will become an assembly site for electric buses in Moscow, is already being completed. “We are recruiting staff. I think the builders will complete the work by March, and we will begin trial assemblies at this site. The body shop and everything related to the chassis remains in Neftekamsk, but the installation of all systems, including the battery, will be carried out in Moscow. The capacity is planned at 450 units per year, but Mosgortrans intends to vacate its industrial park further, so that we will be able to develop the site. The project is financed by KAMAZ, Moscow, for its part, supported it with a grant, ”said Sergey Kogogin.