Joking around, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un travelled to Pyongyang in a Russian-made Aurus limousine last week, showcasing their strengthening anti-Western alliance.
When unveiled in 2018, the luxury sedan was aimed at showcasing Russia’s domestic strength and reducing its reliance on imported technology and goods.
But customs records show the company that makes it uses millions of dollars’ worth of imported parts, many of them coming to Russia from the country that Kim Jong Un has described as his country’s “primary enemy,” South Korea.
The imports point to Russia’s continued reliance on Western technology as it seeks to escape Western efforts to isolate itself from global supply chains as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine.
The two leaders took turns driving armoured limousines during Putin’s lavish visit, his first to North Korea in 25 years, a demonstration of the growing close ties between the two nuclear powers.
Customs records seen by Reuters showed Russia imported at least $34 million worth of equipment and components to assemble Aurus cars and motorcycles between 2018 and 2023. Reuters did not have access to more recent data.
The imported items included car body parts, sensors, programmable controllers, switches, welding equipment and other components worth about $15.5 million from South Korea. Parts were also imported from China, India, Turkey, Italy and other EU countries.
Records show that foreign supplies to Aurus continued even after Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine, with about $16 million worth of goods, including $5 million worth of those produced in South Korea, imported since February 2022.
Reuters could not determine precisely which imported foreign parts were used in the car gifted to Kim, and that it was not in violation of import sanctions – Aurus LLC was banned by the United States in February, 2024.
The Aurus sedan was developed by Russian state-owned research organization NAMI in partnership with Russian carmaker Sollers, which has now sold its stake.
Aurus Motors and its CEO Andrei Pankov did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on the use of foreign parts, including from South Korea, in its vehicles.
Increase in production
The company began official production in Russia’s Tatarstan region, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Moscow, in 2021 – having previously built it on a small, pilot scale at NAMI. It will begin additional production in St. Petersburg at a former Toyota factory later this year.
Toyota is one of several foreign carmakers that have exited the Russian market following the invasion, which Russia calls a “special military operation”.
This exodus has left a vacuum which has been quickly filled by Chinese producers, rapidly capturing more than half of the market, and exposing Russia’s limited domestic production capacity.
South Korean companies were among Aurus’ biggest suppliers, including industrial equipment maker Kyungki Industrial Co., car body parts maker BYT Co. Ltd. and battery supplier Enertec International Inc.
Italian plastic parts maker Industria Ilpia SpA and Hong Kong company Rain Electronics also supplied goods.
Qiongqi Industrial Co said in a statement to Reuters on Monday that it had not signed any contracts with Aurus or Russian suppliers from 2021 or participated in any other projects in Russia from 2022. It also said it would be concerned about any potential sanctions.
A company representative previously told Reuters the company was continuing to supply Aurus and was not concerned about potential sanctions. The representative later referred Reuters to Monday’s statement.
Rain Electronics could not be reached for comment. When a Reuters reporter visited the address listed on the Internet as the company’s Hong Kong office, there was no trace of Rain Electronics on the floor or in the office building listed online.
BYT Co Ltd, Enertech International and Industria Ilpia SpA did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The retro-styled Aurus Senat, based on a Soviet-era ZIL limousine, is the official presidential car of Russia and was used by Putin at his presidential inauguration ceremonies in 2018 and 2024.
Putin has now gifted Kim, who is known to be an automobile enthusiast, two Aurus cars, the first during Kim’s visit to Russia in February, and the second, of a slightly different model, in North Korea in June.
The price of Aurus cars – which includes four models including an SUV and an armoured version – starts at 46.625 million rubles ($528,356). Customers include Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdymukhamedov.
According to data from the Russian analytical agency Autostat, Aurus sold 107 cars in Russia in 2023. Aurus does not disclose production numbers.
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