Astana Motors reported about the development of the company’s industrial cluster to the Prime Minister during his working visit to Almaty

Olzhas Bektenov was acquainted with the development process at Astana Motors’ industrial cluster in the Industrial Zone of Almaty, including plans for upgrading the operating Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan plant and the progress in the construction of the Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan multi-brand plant and a technology park for car component localization.

“Kazakhstan’s automobile industry – no matter what some people say, with so many opponents and critics around – is making headway. It will continue to develop. And we, as a government, will always support it. Businesses are eager to develop and increase localization. Our country must have strong automobile production,” Olzhas Bektenov noted.

Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan plant. Industrial Zone of Almaty Photo: archive of Astana Motors’ press service

The Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan automobile plant, a subsidiary of Astana Motors, introduced CKD production, including welding and painting, of two models – the Hyundai Accent and the Tucson. Currently, the company has expanded its production area to 40,000 sq. m and is installing robotic equipment to upgrade its workshops, which will increase CKD production capacity to start welding and painting of new models. In particular, the plant will launch CKD production of the Hyundai Santa Fe in the first quarter of 2025.

As a result, Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan will have a production area of 40,000 sq. m, with the number of jobs at the plant to grow to 1700.

The plant expansion project worth 16.4 bln tenge is implemented exclusively with Astana Motors’ funds, the company pointed out. 

In the first quarter of 2025, Astana Motors will launch production of Chery, Changan, and Great Wall Motors (GWM) cars at the Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan multi-brand plant with an output of 90,000 units per year, 60 % of which will be exported. The plant will employ 3600 personnel.

Multi-brand plant currently under construction. Industrial Zone of Almaty Photo: archive of Astana Motors’ press service

A total of 182 bln tenge is invested in the multi-brand plant. 30 % are Astana Motors’ own funds, and 70 % are borrowed at a rate of 9 % per annum for 15 years through financial leasing from the Industrial Development Fund and guarantees of the Development Bank of Kazakhstan.

From August to December 2024, 1800 containers with equipment for the multi-brand plant will arrive in Almaty from Automotive Engineering Corporation (China), a supplier of high-tech equipment for top global car makers, such as BMW, Toyota, Jaguar, Land Rover, Hyundai, BYD. The plant will also install equipment from Siemens (Germany), ABB (Sweden/Switzerland), Schneider (France), Omron (Japan), and Fanuc (Japan).

The production facilities will occupy two floors at the new plant, including a car component warehouse, as well as robotic welding, painting, interior and exterior assembly workshops.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Astana Motors Engineering technopark in the Industrial Zone of Almaty is due to go into operation. It includes three plants for the production of car seats, multimedia systems, polyurethane mats, mudguards and mud flaps, with a capacity of 100,000 sets per year. The plants will employ up to 400 personnel. 15.5 bln tenge is invested in the project.

Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan plant. Industrial Zone of Almaty Photo: archive of Astana Motors’ press service

“In a move to a yet more complex stage of development in the automotive industry, Astana Motors is localizing car components together with leading South Korean manufacturers Youngsan and Motrex. Our goal is to achieve a localization level of 51 % within 7 years, including through industrial cooperation with other manufacturers. This will reduce the cost of domestically produced cars and bring up the competencies of engineering personnel in Kazakhstan,” said Nurlan Smagulov, founder of Astana Motors.

The company is further deepening its localization of car components step by step and will significantly expand its product range. The company’s plans include casting seat foam molds, manufacturing covers, plastic parts, fuel tanks, and mufflers.

The company expects the automotive industrial cluster in the Industrial Zone of Almaty to draw component manufacturers and raw material suppliers, drive the development of small and medium businesses and gather a pool of qualified engineering personnel in Kazakhstan. Astana Motors’ plants in the Industrial Zone of Almaty will provide over 6000 jobs in total in 2025.

Source: https://forbes.kz