Former Russian BMW plant now produces Chinese cars & why reading Russian media is important

JMC and Avtotor have agreed to phase in full-cycle production at the assembly line in Kaliningrad

Normally, TFF doesn’t publish stuff like this. But I believe that this news itam - which you are not likely to see in the Western mainstream press - is indicative of the world order change - and how fast it’s going. This is a change that comes not in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but because of the NATO/EU countries’ extremely ill-considered and self-destructive types of reactions to it.

Everybody acted in uncontrolled anger, bent on teaching Russia a lesson and without the slightest attempt at assessing the possible/likely long-term consequences of those policies, the sanctions and the blowing up of the Nordstream pipelines in particular.

Much to the West’s surprise - but not unpredictably - most countries in the world did not side with NATO and its reckless expansion into Ukraine over 30 years against all warnings from the West’s own best security experts and every Russian leader from Gorbachev and onwards.

The article below can be read from that perspective.

Secondly, we post it here on Substack because it is but one example of why you should get a VPN or proxy server and get access to media the ‘free’ West - in violation of human rights treaties - have closed down for you. This article is from RT (formerly Russia Today), the BBC if you will of Russia.

I browse it every day (like so many other non-Western media)and find news, editorials and commentaries/debates that are absolutely essential for an understanding of Russia, the perspective on the West and the world by Russians.

RT’s journalistic quality is at least as high as any comparable Western mainstream media. It has a critical - but not propagandistic - perspective on the US, NATO and Western policies - and sometimes also on Russian policies. Remarkably, it is much less anti-West that Western media are anti-Russia.

But more importantly, it gives you different stories and interpretations. Mainstream media manipulators in the West will tell you that it is all Putin propaganda. Those of us who regularly read Russian media (and other non-Western) know for a fact that that is part of media warfare conducted by the US in particular and has nothing to do with reality.

JAN OBERG
TFF director & editor

And now read about how the Chinese and the Russians produce cars together where Western cars were once built:

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RT, August 17, 2023:

“The Avtotor plant in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad has begun manufacturing Chinese commercial JMC vehicles, the company announced on Wednesday.  

Three models of the Chinese brand have entered production at the plant, which previously assembled German BMW and South Korean Hyundai and Kia cars.

“The Kaliningrad automaker Avtotor is cooperating with the Chinese company JMC in the production of high-tech commercial vehicles. The production of three models of the brand – the compact urban commercial vehicle Carrying, the universal commercial vehicle Conquer, and the Vigus pickup truck – has started,” the company announced.   

Avtotor and JMC have agreed to phase in full-cycle manufacturing – which includes welding, painting, and assembly – and boost production capacity once the project proves cost-effective.   

READ MORE: Mercedes disconnects Russian customers – Izvestia

In January, the Russian carmaker began producing Chinese Kaiyi cars and in April announced the launch of the BAIC and SWM assembly – both also Chinese.   

Chinese brands have become major players on the Russian car market, filling the void left by Western firms and also reflecting China’s growing importance to the country’s economy.   

The popularity of Chinese automobiles in Russia has been rising amid the exodus of European, American, Japanese, and South Korean brands. Many automakers found it difficult to continue operations in the country due to logistical disruptions resulting from Western sanctions, particularly after deliveries of cars and spare parts to Russia were halted.   

Avtotor was founded in 1994 in Kaliningrad and was the first plant in Russia to assemble foreign cars. It has a production capacity of 250,000 cars per year.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section.”

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