In a move that has angered some political analysts , Ural Motorcycles will move assembly of its world-famous sidecar machines from Russia to Kazakhstan .
In an attempt to persuade President Vladimir Putin to cease his war on Ukraine , internationally imposed sanctions and embargoes placed upon Russian businesses and manufacturing has forced Ural to take drastic action to ensure the brand can remain loyal to its mostly international market and remain solvent throughout the sanctions . This has been seen by many as an attempt to flout international feelings and for Russia to find loopholes that can be exploited to ensure it still has a viable economy .
Both Ural CEO , Ilya Khait , and the Kazakhstan Government have emphatically dismissed the accusations stating that this is to help Ural and its employees , as well as a region of Kazakhstan , through employment and skill sharing .
“ The Ural factory is not under sanctions ,” explained Kazakhstan ’ s Minister for Industry and Infrastructure Development , Kairbek Uskenbayev . “ If for some reason it has decided to relocate and open an enterprise on the territory of Kazakhstan , why should we deny it ?”
Yet Kazakhstan shares a free trade agreement with Russia through the Eurasian Economic Union , and many have pointed out that this is the problem . In fact , it means that the move by Ural will be relatively seamless and should see production running as soon as the factory is viable , helped by the fact that the base will be in the northern Kazakhstan city of Petropavlovsk just 600 kilometres southeast of Ural ’ s Russian base of Irbit in the Sverdlovsk region .
“ This prepared us for and simplifies the current task of moving the assembly ,” suggested Khait . “ We are essentially changing the address for shipping these components to another location .”
Khait went on to explain that the move was to ease the burden on Ural employees through the uncertainty of an unknown future . It also allows international manufacturers to supply components to Ural through Kazakhstan and for Ural to then ship completed frames and chassis ’ to Petropavlovsk for final assembly and shipment to dealers and customers . He said it ’ s not ideal but better than being in Russia .
The advantage of Petropavlovsk is that the city is close to the Russian border and many of the citizens are Russian speakers , making administration much simpler .
While it ’ s a necessary move for Ural , it is also seen as a win for the region around Petropavlovsk and the greater Kazakhstani population .
“ It means job , it means a tax base , it means skills ,” said Uskenbayev . “ We will welcome the Russian provider , and we will have a lot of such companies .”
And while the Ural move will be seen as a test case for further movement of Russian businesses , the Kazakhstani government are making it very clear that this will not be an open book for businesses to break international sanctions .
“ We are going to abide by the sanctions ,” explained Timur Suleimenov , spokesperson for Kazakhstan President , Kassym-Jomart Tokayev . “ The last thing we want is secondary sanctions from the US and the EU to be applied to Kazakhstan .”
Kazakhstani banks have already placed tough restrictions on Russian nations and businesses that fled across the border when the Ukraine war first started , the government too has placed limited restrictions on Russian goods and services where possible .
With 80 % of Ural parts manufactured outside of Russia the move will also help many businesses that were indirectly affected by the sanctions placed on Russia .
The move to Petropavlovsk will be completed shortly with manufacturing and final assembly said to be restarted in August . TRAVERSE
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