Featured Trade Event: U.S. Automotive Parts and Components Trade Mission to Russia
November 1, 2011April 22–28, 2012
U.S. Automotive Parts and Components Trade Mission to Russia
Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Samara, Russia
Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow. (© Jupiterimages/Getty)
This mission is designed to provide an opportunity for a diverse cross-section of U.S. companies that sell automotive goods and services to explore Russia’s rapidly expanding car and truck assembly market. It will be led by Michelle O’Neill, deputy under secretary of commerce for international trade.
With more than140 million consumers and a growing middle class, Russia remains one of the most promising markets for U.S. exporters. Sales of cars and trucks in Russia are currently growing at an annual rate of 30 percent. In 2010, Russian customers purchased 1.9 million cars. This figure includes 646,000 new Russian cars and 1.25 million foreign cars, both imported and produced in Russia. Importers forecast continued rapid growth of approximately 20 percent in 2011. If these trends continue, most experts project Russia will be the largest automotive market in Europe within the next few years.
Foreign automakers have taken notice of the Russian automotive market’s potential for growth and are building assembly plants to meet the increasing demand for high-quality automobiles. General Motors, for example, has a $335 million plant in Togliatti, a joint venture with Russian auto giant AvtoVaz. Other major international producers, including Nissan, Toyota and Hyundai, have made significant investments in St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad oblast, turning it into a new automotive assembly cluster.
Specific automotive sectors targeted for attention by this trade mission include components for vehicle manufacture, replacement parts, aftermarket products, repair equipment, testing equipment, and software and engineering services.
The mission will begin in Moscow and will include site visits and consultations in St. Petersburg and in two centers of the Russian auto industry, Samara and Togliatti. In addition to market briefings by industry experts, the mission program will include opportunities to meet key Russian government officials and decision-makers, one-on-one meetings with potential business partners, and site visits to automotive assembly plants and component manufacturers.
The cost to participate in the trade mission ranges from $4,952 to $5,701 per company for one representative, depending on firm size. There is a $1,220 fee for each additional company participant. The fee covers all in-country travel and one-on-one meetings, but mission participants will be responsible for travel to and from Russia, lodging, most meals, and incidentals. Applications must be received by January 6, 2012. For more information about the trade mission, visit its Web site or contact Eduard Roytberg of the USFCS, tel.: (909) 466-4138; e-mail: eduard.roytberg@trade.gov, or Kenneth C. Duckworth of the USFCS, tel.: +7 (812) 326-2560; e-mail: kenneth.duckworth@trade.gov.
A related webinar, “The Russian Automotive Sector—New Opportunities for U.S. Suppliers,” will be held November 17. For more information, go to http://export.gov/industry/auto/russia039444.asp.
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