New Brand of Cars Produced at Former Mercedes Plant Will Be Maxeed

The new brand of cars produced at the former Mercedes plant will be Maxeed, sources have informed RBC. The plant, located in the Moscow region, has machinery set up and a robot that assembles components reminiscent of Exceed.

The former Mercedes-Benz factory in Yosipovo, Moscow region, which passed to the Russian group Avtodom with a buy-back option in April 2023, will begin production of vehicles under its own Maxeed brand, two sources close to the project told RBC. According to one source, the planned production volume is expected to reach 120,000 vehicles per year. “The vehicle kits have already been imported,” the RBC source said. “The first models to launch will feature internal combustion engines, followed by hybrid cars, and then electric vehicles.”

At the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a vehicle kit and robot assembly reminiscent of Exeed components (the automotive brand belongs to the Chery conglomerate) are on display at the Moscow region stand. The press service of the Moscow regional government declined to comment.

Earlier, RBC was informed about the plans for production under its own brand by Avtodom co-owner Andrey Olkhovsky. He stated that the company would initially release one brand, but the lineup could expand. “Future actions will depend on both sales and the loading of the plant’s capacities, as well as the partners we will continue to involve in the development of our project. In the long term, we are prepared to launch up to eight models in the market,” he noted.

As Olkhovsky mentioned earlier this year in an interview with Kommersant, the planned production volume for the enterprise in 2024 is 30,000 cars (the factory’s current design capacity). Olkhovsky indicated that discussions on localization had taken place with all Chinese brands presented in the Russian market, except for Haval. He also remarked that the 2024 volume will be assembled with major components as imported bodies arrive at the factory. It had already been reported in the fall that Chery was the main contender for localization.