Honda Is Coming To Russia

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Better late than never: Honda is following a long line of other manufacturers to Russia, and will be assembling cars there. This according to a report in The Nikkei [sub]. It is said that Honda has submitted a plan to Russia’s Economy Ministry for the production of 30,000-50,000 cars per year.

The Russian government had been strong-arming the industry for a while. Either set up assembly sites in Russia and enjoy favorable treatment for the parts to come in. Or stay out and face grim import duties that exclude even the average oligarch from your target group.

Supposedly, the deadline to submit plans to Russia’s Economy Ministry was July 1, but exceptions can be made. The site for the plant has not been chosen yet, The Nikkei figures a location in Russia’s Far East, right across the water from Japan. Easy call.

Apart from Fiat, GM, Ford, Volkswagen, Renault and Daimler, Honda’s Japanese competition at Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi are coming to mother Russia, with Mazda to come next year.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Skor Skor on Sep 18, 2011

    Thinking of Russian workers first! How dare those bunch of unreconstructed commie bastards! What they need is a good dose of Any Rand, Ludwig von Mises, and Michele Bachmann. If that doesn't work, they should be nuked back to the stone age, before this kind of anti-free market economic savagery spreads to civilized countries......you know, the kind without universal health care.

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