NURLAN SMAGULOV'S NEW PLANT
The entrepreneur revealed his company's export plans.
Presently, the Astana Motors company is building a full-cycle multi-brand plant in the Almaty industrial zone. This is a modern production facility designed to produce nine models of three brands.
Currently, CheryTiggo 2, HavalJolion, Tank 300 have been agreed upon with brand holders for production. A model by Changan is at the approval stage. The full model line of the plant will be presented before the production pilot launch.
The cost of the multi-brand plant Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan is 182 billion tenge. Of these, 30% are company’s own finances, 70% are borrowed repayable funds for 15 years at a rate of 9% per annum through financial leasing instruments of the Federal Investment Fund and Development Bank of Kazakhstan guarantees.
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The Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan project is unique in many respects. This is the only plant where models of three leading Chinese brands will be produced. It is also the only plant in the CIS where welding and assembly shops are located on different floors and the first plant in the Republic of Kazakhstan with an automatic body distribution warehouse. Moreover, only Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan, when compared with CIS car factories, will use the dry coagulation method (cleaning the air from paint aerosol in the paint booth). This is a
modern green technology in the automotive industry, that, unlike the more common water technology, does not use water and chemicals, is 60% more effective at trapping harmful substances in the chamber, and consumes 35% less electricity.
The stated production capacity of the enterprise is 90 thousand cars per year, but 40% will go to the Kazakh car market, and 60% of the products will be exported to the CIS countries.
Brands of passenger cars from China have appeared in the Astana Motors portfolio since 2021. According to Nurlan Smagulov, these cars have found their niche in Kazakhstan and after the localization of production, they will be even more in demand: the first buyers of Chinese cars were people who love new things, the next wave are conservatives, those who see how their neighbor drive the car, what reviews they have, those who look into it closely. By this time, we are just starting to produce Chinese cars at our plant, because we have already tested them satisfactorily and are confident in their quality.”
The construction of Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan is an important step in the further development of Kazakh industry. This is the so-called high value-added industry, involving many related manufacturers in the process.
Astana Motors intends to show how this works using the example of an auto components production cluster being built next to Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan. According to Astana Motors CEO Beknur Nesipbaev, “the cluster is not a new niche for Astana Motors, but a benchmark for SMEs, a direction for the development of local business. All over the world, the automotive industry operates through offtake contracts, and the same scheme of cooperation between manufacturers needs to be introduced in Kazakhstan through the opening of enterprises for the production of auto components.”
“They always say that “in Kazakh cars, the only Kazakh thing is air in the tires.” The head of state sets the task for the auto industry not just to increase the amount of assembled cars, to increase production, but to deepen localization. In order for Kazakhstanis to consider cars as Kazakhstani, it is necessary to produce auto components and spare parts. These seats, bumpers and multimedia systems are just the beginning of the journey. We want a stamp (of bodies), production of auto glass, cables and paintwork to appear in Kazakhstan in three years. And we shouldn't be afraid and say "we can't." I believe that the stage of just assembling cars has already been passed. To be honest, it took quite a long time. We need to increasingly tighten the requirements for automakers so that they switch to small-scale production. I believe, our chances are no worse than those of neighboring Uzbekistan and Russia,” Nurlan Smagulov said.
Consequently, Astana Motors supports the course of the Ministry of Industry and Construction and contributes to the development of business, mechanical engineering and the automotive industry, including the localization of the production of auto components.
It is worth noting that the construction of Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan itself is already supporting a Kazakh manufacturer. The construction of the plant is carried out by Kazakh engineers and builders, their share is 90%. Only 10% comes from visiting consulting engineers specializing specifically in the construction of automobile plants.
More than 50% of the materials used in construction are made in Kazakhstan, and for some items (concrete, rolled metal, ventilation communications) the share has reached 100%.
The start of pilot production at the new plant is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025.