Viktor Kudryashov discussed measures to support the automotive cluster at an all-Russian meeting with the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation
The authorities of the Samara region continue to consistently defend the interests of OEMs and their suppliers. During the current restrictions in connection with the spread of coronavirus infection, this sector of the economy suffers significant losses. In a number of enterprises, sales fell by more than half. Moreover, for the Samara region - one of the largest centers of the automotive industry in Russia - this area is one of the basic.
36 thousand people of AVTOVAZ are employed in the regional automobile industry, about 30 thousand workers work at 206 related enterprises located in the region. In total, more than 200 thousand residents of the region are tied to the activities of the auto giant. Therefore, any malfunction in AVTOVAZ’s work is very sensitive both for the economy as a whole and for a large number of residents of the region.
Measures for the automotive cluster companies were repeatedly raised by the regional authorities at the federal level. On April 24, the Governor of the Samara Region Dmitry Azarov took part in a meeting on the development of the automotive industry, which was held by President Vladimir Putin. During the meeting the head of the region turned to the head of state with a proposal to include the production of cars and components in the list of sectors of the Russian economy that were most affected by the spread of coronavirus infection, and also consider the possibility of allocating funds to support the employment of AVTOVAZ employees, as it was during the crisis period 2008-2009 years.
Today, May 16, Chairman of the Government of the Samara Region Viktor Kudryashov took part in the All-Russian meeting, which was held by the Minister of Economic Development of the country Maxim Reshetnikov in the video conference mode regime. During the meeting, approaches to a gradual exit from the restrictions regime were discussed, as well as the procedure for restoring the work of enterprises and institutions.
The Chairman of the Government addressed the head of the department with a number of proposals on supporting the automotive component industry and the work of the dealer network. In particular, according to the recommendations drawn up by the Rospotrebnadzor of the Russian Federation, restrictions on the work of dealers can be removed only in the third stage, while the work of all participants in the sales chain is extremely important to stimulate demand for the purchase of cars.
In addition, the Chairman of the Government proposed to consider the possibility of establishing separate, milder criteria for including auto-component enterprises in the list of strategic ones, so that they could also take advantage of the preferences that key production for the region’s economy can count on.
“Almost as many people are employed in the production of automotive components as at AVTOVAZ,” said Viktor Kudryashov. “In recent months, they have suffered significant losses, we are requesting to consider our suggestions when developing further decisions to support the economy.”
The Minister of Economic Development noted that this measure also needs to be worked out in detail with the Ministry of Industry of the Russian Federation. Corresponding letters with proposals from the Samara region were sent to these departments.
The day before, on Friday, May 15, 2020, Viktor Kudryashov, First Vice-Governor - Chairman of the Government of the Samara Region, held a meeting on measures to support enterprises - manufacturers of automotive components with industry representatives and relevant departments. The meeting was attended by Minister of Economic Development and Investment of the Samara Region Dmitry Bogdanov, acting Minister of Industry and Trade of the region Oleg Zhadaev, Chairman of the Committee on Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade of the Samara Provincial Duma Vyacheslav Maleev, President of the Association of the Union of Employers of the Samara Region, Member of the Board of the All-Russian Public organizations “Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs”, president of AKOM Group of Companies Nikolay Ignatiev, general director of Cluster of Automotive Industry Andrey Kraynov, Julia Krasina, General Director of the Samara Region State Industrial Development Fund, representatives of JSC AVTOVAZ and automotive component manufacturing enterprises.
Opening the meeting, Viktor Kudryashov said: “We understand what difficulties AVTOVAZ and other OEMs are facing today. The picture of April in our region shows that the drop in sales is very deep: up to 70% for AVTOVAZ models. A similar situation has developed in other regions and in other enterprises. At the same time, the production of automobiles and auto components has not yet been included in the list of problem sectors most affected by the current conditions. Our goal today is to discuss the situation at enterprises, to develop proposals that we will send to the federal level for state support of the industry, to see what we can do at the regional level through the Industrial Development Fund and other tools. ”
The regional authorities have already sent a number of proposals to the Government of the Russian Federation that will help to restore the industry - first of all, the restart of AVTOVAZ dealerships, which were closed in 44 regions of the country during the period of restrictive measures. The head of state instructed to restore their work.
The Government of the Samara Region also offers a number of measures to stimulate demand for automotive products and the inclusion of the automotive industry in the list of sectors of the Russian economy most affected by the threat of a new infection. These proposals are currently under consideration at the federal center.
A set of measures to support the industry at the regional level is also being developed. Julia Krasina reported on the programs developed by the State Fund for Industrial Development of the Samara Region. This is the Anti-Crisis Financing project - the opportunity to take a loan in the amount of 5 to 50 million rubles for working capital or investment purposes at 2% per annum without collateral and the Syndicated Financing program - a loan in the same amount on the terms of 50% co-financing with parties to banks, also at 2% per annum.
The Chairman of the regional Government instructed the State Industrial Development Fund of the Samara Region to develop an additional regional program that provides for automotive component manufacturers the possibility of refinancing existing investment loans and working capital loans, as well as loans for working capital financing and financing investment projects aimed at diversifying production.
The industry will be included in the regional list of areas of activity that are at risk in a special epidemiological situation. In addition, this year the Government of the Samara Region will continue to provide state support measures for companies participating in projects to develop the competencies of local manufacturers of automotive components to meet the requirements of OEMs.
Participants of the meeting additionally discussed possible new measures to support automotive component manufacturers: reducing contributions to extrabudgetary funds for up to 3 years, subsidizing costs in connection with the launch of new projects and extending agreements on industrial assembly of cars between government bodies and automotive enterprises for a year. This package of proposals is also planned to be sent to the Government of the Russian Federation.