Russian presidential carmaker Aurus is ready to enter Asian markets

MOSCOW, Apr 14, 2019, RT. Russian automaker Aurus, which produces limousines for the Russian president, is going to introduce its cars to Asian customers and considers China as a possible place for its debut, the company’s CEO has revealed, reported the Russia Today.

The high-end cars were presented to clients in the Middle East at the IDEX 2019 arms expo in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in February. The brand made its international debut at the prestigious Geneva Motor Show in March. However, it is not “the end of the road” for Aurus, according to its CEO Franz Gerhard Hilgert.

“We are planning to enter the Asian markets. And we will start at a motor show, but we have not decided at which one yet. It will be either Beijing or Shanghai,” Hilgert said in an interview to TASS.

Both Chinese auto shows are held biennially, with Auto Shanghai set to start next week and Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, also known as Auto China, to be held next year.

During the show in Geneva, Hilgert met with major international car dealers, many of whom showed great interest in the Aurus automobile line, but only those who have experience in luxury car sales and are ready to invest in showrooms can become the company’s partners, he noted.

However, Aurus foreign sales will not start until 2021 when the company reaches the necessary production capacity. Aurus has only two official trade partners in Russia, both based in Moscow, but wants to expand the network in the country and beyond. The carmaker is still looking for dealers in Europe, and afterward, it will do the same in the Persian Gulf countries, as well as in Japan, China, and Singapore, the CEO said.

In February, the Aurus automobile line, initially developed for the presidential pool, started taking pre-orders for Aurus Senat Limousine L700 and Aurus Senat S600. Since then the company has received more than 500 orders, and it plans to fulfill them before starting exports, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said on Wednesday.