OREANDA-NEWS. Production of Hyundai in St. Petersburg at the end of 2015 may be unprofitable. It was stated by General Director of "Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus", Choi Dong Spruce, explaining that this forecast is based on the real situation, in which the Russian market is: an increase in production costs, along with the inability to increase the prices for new cars.

"Cost of our production is increasing, at the same time we cannot raise prices significantly, as our car no one will buy," - said the top manager, who is cited by "Auto-Dealer.ru".

Choi Dong-El said that the company has no plans to stop the production and to reduce the workforce. "We can support the usual volumes due to increased imports. However, there is a difficulty: we are a global company and we already have a presence in many markets. In some markets, we cannot come due to high export duties, "- he explained. According to the head of "Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus”, the state could affect the situation, for which it has enough leverage. In addition to reducing export duties, the State could stimulate the provision of subsidies for transport to foreign markets.

By the end of 2014 the St. Petersburg plant Hyundai produced 237,000 cars Hyundai Solaris and KIA Rio, which is more by 3.3% than a year ago. Thus, for the second consecutive year, the volume of production exceeded initial annual plan by 4%. According to the company, stable operation of the plant in three shifts and increase in production volumes for the year became possible due to the efficient use of production capacity and strong demand for manufactured cars. It is worth noting that in June it began the production of the new generation of Hyundai Solaris. At the same time St. Petersburg plant Hyundai in 2014 exported 25,700 cars (-1.1%), which was 11% of total production. The largest export market for the company is Kazakhstan, where it was delivered 21,900 cars (+ 80.3%). Then Azerbaijan and Belarus follow by the volume of export.

In 2015, the plant "Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus" plans to produce about 228,000 vehicles, which is more by 14% than the production capacity of the plant. It is also worth noting that it will be the third model on the assembly line in 2016 - the new subcompact crossover Hyundai.