Opinion: machine-building industry is among Belarus’ brands

The presence of scientific, human and industrial potential in the field of mechanical engineering creates prerequisites for the possibility of attracting well-known foreign brands to establish fundamentally new and modern passenger car production facilities in the post-Soviet space and, in particular, in Belarus. These are primarily Chinese partners who are beginning to occupy one of the leading positions in the world market. Economist Georgy Grits commented on the issue.

“The machine-building industry is among Belarus’ brands. In times of the USSR and sovereign Belarus, such brands as MAZ, BELAZ, MZKT, MTZ and Gomselmash gained worldwide fame. Over the past decade, with the support of President Aleksandr Lukashenko, a joint production of passenger cars was established, and it has presented a model under its own brand this year. However, the development of the Belarusian automotive industry did not stop there: after the introduction of unprecedented sanctions, Belarus began to introduce new trends to the market. In addition, new and modern automotive components have started to be developed and produced: in particular, the National Academy of Sciences is actively working in the field of creating efficient batteries and other components for electric vehicles. By the way, during the annual Day of Electric Transport exhibition, First Deputy Industry Minister Aleksandr Ogorodnikov announced the imminent completion of work on a prototype of a Belarusian electric car. The domestic model will be presented to a wide audience this year. The launch of joint car production with Indian and Iranian enterprises – which are also dynamically increasing their rating on the international market – may also be a quite interesting sphere of co-operation. Moreover, it is no longer quite relevant to bring car kits and assemble a vehicle, it is also not always economically profitable. Domestic production with a high level of localisation looks most promising now,” Mr. Grits said.