An automotive industrial park for the production of car components will be established in the Almaty Industrial Zone, the press service of the Government of Kazakhstan reports following the working visit of First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar to China.

A memorandum of strategic cooperation was signed by Astana Motors from Kazakhstan and Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. from China.

The memorandum signing ceremony in Hefei, Anhui Province (PRC), was supported by the Ministry of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan, the Committee of Industry and the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the People’s Republic of China.

The signed document confirms that Chery is interested in developing the production of its cars and components in Kazakhstan. Deeper localization, in turn, will make cars cheaper and more affordable and attractive for Kazakhstanis.

“Chery highly appreciates Astana Motors’ contribution to the consistent development of the automotive industry in Kazakhstan through the creation of full-cycle production including body welding and painting. This signing demonstrates our support in the intention to create a car component park for the multi-brand plant under construction,” said Mr. Zhu Shaodong, Vice President of Chery International Co Ltd.

In October 2023, the Chinese delegation, headed by Governor of Anhui Province, Mr. Wang Qingxian, and the Chairman of the Chery Holding Group Board, Mr. Yin Tongyue, visited the construction site of the future Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan plant in Almaty, where Chery cars will be produced from 2025. Then Astana Motors and Chery agreed to further deepen cooperation in terms of localizing spare parts and establishing supply chains. The memorandum signed in China takes the cooperation to a new level.

PHOTO: Governor of Anhui Province (PRC) and the Chery management on a visit to Almaty, October 22, 2023.

“The Automotive Industrial Park is a production site for establishing an industrial cluster with car component manufacturers to support automobile production localization. The construction of our multi-brand plant, Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan, with a capacity of 90,000 cars per year is currently underway in the Almaty industrial zone. 100% of the total volume will be produced using CKD assembly including welding and painting, which makes the localization of car component production profitable. For this reason, car component production facilities are being built nearby to involve medium-sized businesses. These are Kazakh companies and joint ventures. Our task is to expand the list of manufacturers and thereby deepen localization,” said Astana Motors CEO Beknur Nesipbaev.

PHOTO: Project of the Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan multi-brand plant

The construction of the Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan plant is due to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024. Pilot production of cars will begin in the first quarter of 2025. The production area will be 150,000 sq. m. The total cost of the project is 164 bln tenge. The plant will produce cars from Chinese car brands, including three Chery models – the Tiggo 2, the Tiggo 4 Pro and the Tiggo 7 PRO.

The plant has three semi-automated welding shops – one for each brand, three assembly lines – one for each brand too, which will create more jobs. The paint shop will be fully automated and used for all brands.

The plant will create 2,600 jobs. The core staff will consist of engineering and technical specialists who will adopt the experience and standards of leading automakers, as well as develop technologies in Kazakhstan.

Astana Motors plans to supply 40% of the total volume of produced cars to the domestic market and 60% for export.

Notably, Astana Motors and Chery have cooperated since 2021, when a distribution agreement was signed. To date, the total sales volume exceeded 15,000 cars. Chery dealerships are available in 18 cities in Kazakhstan: Almaty, Astana, Shymkent, Aktau, Aktobe, Atyrau, Kostanay, Zhezkazgan, Karaganda, Kokshetau, Kyzylorda, Pavlodar, Petropavlovsk, Semey, Taraz, Taldykorgan, Uralsk, Ust-Kamenogorsk. Cars can also be purchased online.

Chery cars produced in Kazakhstan will go on sale in 2025.