Russian Firm Blames West’s Sanctions After Reports of Cars Falling Apart

• Russian automaker Sollers is under fire over reports that its cars are breaking down along the war front.
• One former top official complained of a gearshift lever falling off, constant leaks, and engine problems.
• In response on Thursday, Sollers blamed Western sanctions for forcing it to switch suppliers quickly.

A Russian contractor providing SUVs and pick-up trucks to Moscow’s troops blamed Western sanctions on Thursday amid criticism that its vehicles were arriving in poor condition.

Sollers, the Russian company that owns the auto firm Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, or UAZ, told local outlet Gazeta.RU that its subsidiary had lost key suppliers in 2022 due to the “conditions of sanctions restrictions.”

To maintain its production lines, UAZ had switched component suppliers in the “shortest possible time,” Sollers’ press service added, per the outlet.

The company’s statement comes as Dmitry Rogozin, a once-prominent official now based in the Donbas, has repeatedly slammed the quality of UAZ vehicles delivered to Russian troops for months.

Rogozin was head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos before he was fired in July 2022. In the absence of a new posting from Moscow, he’s rekindled his public image as a volunteer leader on the front lines in Ukraine. Before working at Roscosmos, he was also Russia’s ambassador to NATO and a deputy prime minister overseeing defense production.

He’s been complaining about UAZ vehicles since July, when he wrote on his public Telegram channel that they arrived in seemingly brand-new condition but suffered from constant oil leaks, “flimsy” transfer cases, and engines that seized up after about 3,000 miles of use.

Rogozin recounted seeing a UAZ-made “Patriot” SUV stalling about two miles from battle lines at night, forcing three Russian soldiers inside to flee into a nearby forest and return with a repair kit as Ukrainian recon drones watched.

“All this speaks of the disgusting quality of assembly and the unworthy quality of the parts and components themselves,” Rogozin wrote.

In September, he wrote that his UAZ vehicle had broken down due to a power steering fluid leak, forcing him to call for a second pick-up truck. However, Rogozin said that the gearshift lever of the second vehicle, also made by UAZ, fell off while on the road.

Posting a photo of the broken lever on his Telegram channel, Rogozin blasted the quality of the cars as so poor that their production might as well be an act of sabotage.

“The war is going on, and you’re sending defective products to the front. Shame and disgrace!” he wrote.

Sollers did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.

On Thursday, Rogozin said BARS-Sarmat, a volunteer military organization that he formed under the Russian reserve, would sign a cooperative agreement with UAZ’s management to ensure “control of the required quality” of vehicles sent to the front.

Sollers also told Gazeta.RU that it was in talks with Rogozin and BARS-Sarmat, including a discussion on producing custom vehicles tailored for specific combat missions.

The Moscow-based firm is one of Russia’s biggest auto manufacturers. Its UAZ brand specializes in off-road vehicles, including the military transport car UAZ-469 and commercial SUVs frequently used by Russian troops.

Sollers shared a factory in Moscow with the Michigan-based Ford Motor Company until October 2022, when the US company pulled out amid pressure for Western firms to leave Russia.

In November of that year, Mazda also withdrew from its joint venture plant in Vladivostok with Sollers. The Japanese carmaker sold its stake for one euro and maintained the right to buy it back for the same price in three years.

The Russian automaker’s recent blaming of Western sanctions is a reversal of its statements in September 2023, when it dismissed being blacklisted by the US Treasury Department.

Sollers had told Russian media it did not foresee a significant impact as it already restructured its supply chain to prepare for the restrictions.

UAZ was also sanctioned by the European Union in June 2023.

In August this year, it said it earned revenues of $452.7 million in the first half of 2023, up 27.3% from $335.7 million in the same period of 2022, due to “a significant increase in production and sales of Sollers vehicles.”

The company’s net profit was $16.4 million, per its statement.