Russia’s Aurus Motors claims the entire production
of the Senat luxury sedans for 2019 and 2020 has already been spoken for. Vadim Svetsov, general manager
and co-owner of Sollers, says prospective customers will only be able to get an
Aurus vehicle in 2021. As an industrial partner of the
“Kortež” project, Sollers handles production of the Aurus’ Senat and Senat
Limousine.
The production numbers are modest.
For 2019, Sollers is expected to build around 120 vehicles, with the capacity
for 2020 expected to increase. About half of the initial batch of cars will go
to the main buyer, the Federal Protection Service, tasked with protecting
high-ranking state officials. Aurus vehicles will also make up the fleet of
Russian government, parliament, and presidential officials.
Aurus is expected to begin taking orders from
private customers in early 2019. Prices are said to start from 10 million
rubles (US$ 152,000) for the Aurus Senat. While the bulk of sales will
initially go to the Russian state, Aurus Motors wants to appeal to private
customers as well. That’s why it has announced the Senat and Senat Limousine
will have their European debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2019.
Both luxury sedans are based on the Unified Modular
Platform developed by the NAMI Russian State Scientific Research Center.
