Putin gave in "Russian" limousine Aurus with details from South Korea (photo)

During his visit to the DPRK, Vladimir Putin presented the second Aurus car, which was positioned as "Russian". But it turned out that there was no import. Laughing and joking, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong -in last week rolled Pyongyang on the limousine of Aurus Russian -made to demonstrate his anti -Western alliance. Aurus was a gift from the Russian President and he even sat behind the wheel.

But it turned out that the limo, which is positioned as a "Russian car" is collected from foreign details. About it reports Reuters. The magnificent sedan was intended to embody Russia's internal skills and reduce dependence on imported technologies and goods when it was presented in 2018.

However, customs records show that the company that produces it uses import parts for millions of dollars, many of which come to Russia from the country, which Kim called the "main enemy" of his country - South Korea. Imports indicate Russia's constant dependence on Western technologies, as it tries to resist the West's attempts to cut it off from global supply chains as a punishment for invasion of Ukraine.

Two leaders took turns leading the armored limousine during Putin's pompous visit to North Korea, his first for almost a quarter of a century, which became a demonstration of the closer ties of two nuclear powers. In the period from 2018 to 2023, Russia imported equipment and accessories worth at least $ 34 million for the assembly of Aurus cars and motorcycles, testify to customs reports that Reuters read. Reuters does not access more fresh data.

Imports included body parts, sensors, programmable controllers, switches, welding equipment and other components worth almost $ 15. 5 million imported from South Korea. The details were also imported from China, India, Turkey, Italy and other EU countries. Foreign supplies for Aurus continued after Russia's full -scale invasion of Ukraine. The goods were imported for almost $ 16 million, including five million imported parts made from South Korea.

Reuters could not specifically determine what imported foreign parts were in a car donated to Kim. It is worth recalling that Aurus LLC was under US sanctions in February 2024. The Aurus sedan has been developed by the Russian State Research Institute in partnership with the Russian car manufacturer Sollers (svav. mm), which has since sold its share.

Aurus Motors and its CEO Andriy Pankov did not respond to the request of Reuters to comment on the use of foreign details, in particular from South Korea, in their cars. The company launched official production in Tatarstan, in the Russian region, about 1000 km from Moscow, 2021 - before that, cars were made on a small experimental scale in us. This year it will start additional production in St. Petersburg at the former Toyota plant.

Toyota is one of many foreign car manufacturers who have left the Russian market after invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls a "special military operation". As a result of the outflow, a niche was formed, which was quickly filled with Chinese manufacturers, quickly capturing more than half of the market share and demonstrating the limited internal production capacities of Russia.

South Korean firms were one of the largest Aurus suppliers, including the manufacturer of industrial equipment Kyungki Industrial CO, BYT CO Ltd body parts manufacturer and the Enertech International Inc. Battery Supplier. Product suppliers also became the Italian manufacturer of plastic parts of Industrie Ilpea SPA and Hong Kong company Rain Electronics. The Kyungki Industrial Co has confirmed that the company supplied the details of Aurus LLC and continues to do so.

The company is not concerned about possible sanctions, the official said, refusing to inform further details. I could not contact Rain Electronics to get comments. When the Reuters correspondent visited the address indicated on the Internet as a company in Hong Kong, there were no traces of Rain Electronics on the floor indicated on the Internet or there was no office. BYT CO LTD, ENERTECH INTERNATIONAL AND INDUSTRIE ILPEA SPA did not respond to Reuters queries about comments.

Aurus Senat, stylized as a Retro-Limusin Zil of the Soviet era, is an official presidential car of Russia, used by Putin on his presidential inauguration in 2018 and 2024. Putin now presented Kim, who is believed to be a passionate fan of cars, two Aurus cars, the first time during a visit to Kim to Russia in February, as well as a slightly different model in North Korea in June. Aurus car prices - four models, including the SUV and the armored version - start from 46.