Putin Tells Russian Bureaucrats To Buy Russian
When I last went to Russia (admittedly about ten years ago, so I am probably horribly out of date), the black Mercedes with shiny alloys and recently blacked car tyres were everywhere, and all the other road users avoided them, knowing they were Very Important People. However, government officials being ferried around Moscow in those black Mercedes could stop if President-elect Vladimir Putin gets his way.
Statistics show that between 2007 and 2009 around £100 million was spent on luxury cars such as Mercedes by various Russian government bodies and state-controlled companies. This is with a background of struggling domestic car manufacturers such as Lada and Volga.
A similar attempt to convince government officials to drive locally produced cars was made in 1997 when they were encouraged to drive Volga Sedans. Obviously it wasn’t a success, although many government officials did temporarily downgrade to an Audi; the most basic car they felt was appropriate to their position!
So should we expect them to start driving Ladas to work? Um…no! Russian-made includes cars assembled in Russia, and this includes Peugeots, Fords and Hyundais. As yet there are no Mercedes plants, but there is a BMW so I imagine they will be getting increased sales shortly!