Assembly of FAW Bestune NAT electric vehicles under the Alfarus brand will begin in Russia

Alfa Tech, in cooperation with the Chinese auto concern FAW Group, plans to start the production of electric vehicles under the Alfarus brand in the city of Engels, Saratov Region, in the third quarter of 2023. This was announced by the Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin, by adding that in 2023 it is planned to produce up to 2 thousand electric vehicles specifically for taxis and car sharing. According to the Chinese Automobiles portal, the first model with which the production of Alfarus electric cars will begin in Engels will be the Chinese FAW Bestune NAT compact van.

It was created specifically for taxis and carsharing, and the name NAT stands for Next AutomaticTaxi. With small dimensions (length 4450 mm) Bestune NAT has a spacious interior and an impressive wheelbase of 2850 mm. The rear right door is sliding, the left one is hinged. In China, NAT is offered with two electric motor options: 136 hp and 163 hp Drive in any case front. There are several batteries to choose from, ranging in capacity from 53 to 56 kWh. Depending on the configuration, the claimed mileage on a single charge ranges from 401 to 425 km. The price of FAW Bestune NAT in China is from 147.8 thousand to 164.8 thousand yuan (from 1.46 million to 1.63 million rubles). Recall that on December 14th, 2022, the government of the Saratov region and the Alfa Tech company signed an agreement on organizing the assembly of electric vehicles, the production of batteries and charging stations at the site in Engels.

The project partner is the Chinese automaker FAW. The investor plans to create up to 270 jobs. The planned volume of investments in the first stage of the project will be about 5 billion rubles. In subsequent years, the production is planned to be localized in stages, which should be facilitated by the experience of the region, where there are already enterprises for the production of batteries.