Yo!: Russia Gets Into The Hybrid Game

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Russia has complained long and bitterly that Western firms refuse to share technology with its home-grown auto industry, but now the billionaire owner of the New Jersey Nets has introduced Russia’s first home-grown hybrid cars in hopes of proving that Russia can compete in the global car industry. But, according to the WSJ, the launch of the brand known as “Yo” (“ë” in Russian) was not without its problems

Mr. Prokhorov said he intends to “break the stereotype saying Russia can’t produce good cars,” even though an executive needed three attempts to successfully start the prototype car with a mobile phone using a remote-start feature.

But then what do you expect from a Russian-built prototype of a hybrid car that’s set to cost only $10k?


Apparently it’s not a good idea to expect too much. Though reports on the quality of the Yo-mobile prototypes are still coming in, the WSJ reckons

Mr. Prokhorov is spending €150 million ($198.4 million) to combine a gasoline engine and an electric motor inside a noisy package resembling a large, clunky toy car. Nearly all the components will be from Russia or the former Soviet Union

“Noisy” and “clunky” aren’t exactly what you’re looking for in a new hybrid car concept, but then the low price point means the Yo-mobile lineup faces certain inherent compromises.

the Yo-mobile will only reach speeds of 130 kilometers an hour (81 miles an hour), limiting its appeal for some drivers. Fuel efficiency is aimed at 3.5 liters per 100 kilometers, or 67 miles per gallon.

Production is planned for 2012, and Prokhorov hopes to build 10k of the Yo-branded cars, vans and trucks each year, with a three-year break-even target. Yo is a joint venture between Prokhorov’s Onexim holding company and an unidentified St Petersburg-based truck manufacturer.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Tosh Tosh on Dec 13, 2010

    "Yo is a joint venture between Prokhorov’s Onexim holding company and an unidentified St Petersburg-based truck manufacturer." Why is the truck manufacturer unidentified? Doesn't ALL the credibility of this venture depend on who this is? Seems one would make a big deal about this important partner (unless it's not a big deal)?

  • Tree Trunk Tree Trunk on Dec 14, 2010

    The main problem that I have had with the Russian cars that I have encountered is how inconsistent their quality is. Some were almost ok, even thought technology wise the were decades behind western cars, while others were maintenance nightmares from day one. It might have been since this was back in the Soviet era that the cars were put together with out needed parts to fill the production quota or it might have had more to do with how much VODKA was downed with the lunch. Either way hitec Russian car with consistent quality, sounds like a tall order.

  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
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