Ford Sollers plant closure to curb russia’s auto steel consumption prospects

摘要

USA’s Ford decided to leave the Russian passenger car market under business restructuring. The company will close two automobile plants and an engine facility. As a result, bleak steel consumption prospects of Russia’s automotive industry are looking even less optimistic in 2019. A joint venture Ford Sollers decided to close two automobile plants in Vsevolozhsk (Leningrad Region) and in Naberezhnye Chelny, along with the engine plant in Elabuga (Tatarstan). The facilities are capable of producing 160,000 and 110,000 ve- hicles per year. However, the company sold only 53,200 units domestically in 2018 due to weak demand. The group’s steel consumption reached almost 50,000 t of flat and long products.