Production of UAZ vehicles may start in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, the assembly of UAZ vehicles may begin – the representatives of the local company Bazra Motors visited the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant and studied the possibility of supplying vehicle sets. According to the Motor.ru portal, if the companies manage to conclude an agreement, UAZs will be assembled in Ethiopia using the SKD method.

Until recently, Ulyanovsk cars were produced by the same method at the Asia-Auto enterprise in Kazakhstan - on the example of this plant, a delegation from an African country studied the possibilities of cooperation. To date, the conveyor of the Kazakh enterprise has been stopped due to a claim by local authorities for the return of benefits in the amount of 174 billion tenge (more than 30 million rubles) received by Asia-Auto. “Our company is a major player in the African market, and we hope that our visit will serve as the beginning of a fruitful cooperation with the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant,” said the head of Bazra Motors, Dr. Yaehirad Asnake.

It should be noted that UAZ cars have been sold in Ethiopia for more than a dozen years. Since 2000, the car plant has delivered more than 1200 cars to the African country, and for all the time - 5260 cars. In 2004, UAZ entered into an agreement with the Rusmotors Company, which made it possible to sell right-hand drive cars in East Africa. Then service stations of Ulyanovsk off-road vehicles appeared on the territory of Ethiopia and Kenya. Last year, it became known about the start of deliveries of UAZ Hunter off-road vehicles to Chile. Mining companies and surf clubs showed particular interest in the cars. The Russian company hopes that the local market will be able to consume from 300 to 500 Ulyanovsk SUVs annually after the launch of all UAZ models.