Former General Motors plant restarted in Russia

At its facilities, the AGR company began producing three Jaecoo models – J6, J7 and J8, TASS reports. According to the agency, the plant in the Shushary industrial zone (St. Petersburg) is currently operating in one shift. The American automaker mothballed the enterprise in 2015, then it was bought by the Korean Hyundai, but did not manage to restart it until 2022.

The industrial site of the former General Motors plant in St. Petersburg Shushary, owned by the AGR holding, has resumed production activities. A large-scale assembly of crossovers of the premium sub-brand Jaecoo, part of the structure of the Chinese Chery Automobile, is organized there.

“The plant in Shushary has just started operating. Now the Jaecoo J6, J7, J8 models are being assembled,” the agency quotes a source in business circles in the region. The interlocutor clarified that the plant operates in one shift.

The plant in Shushary was opened by GM in 2008, its capacity is designed to produce 70 thousand cars per year. Chevrolet Captiva and Chevrolet Cruze were produced here. In 2015, against the backdrop of a general reduction in GM’s presence in the Russian market, the plant was mothballed and in 2020 sold to Hyundai Motor Company, which invested in modernizing the site. There it was planned to launch the production of Hyundai Tucson, Hyundai Palisade and Kia Sportage crossovers. In January 2024, the plant came under the control of the Russian automobile holding company AGR.