NUCLEAR POWER IN BELARUS AND WORLDWIDE
MINSK, 13 April (BelTA) – The Belarusian public transport manufacturer BKM Holding has managed to substitute most of the European components it uses, BKM Holding Director General Taras Murog told BelTA.
Taras Murog said: “At present we've managed to substitute most of the European components. Otherwise, the company would be unable to work. A lot of time has passed since sanctions were introduced, but we still have to buy some components from Europe via intermediaries. We are gradually moving towards substituting all the European parts with those that friendly countries offer to us. Certainly, we've started buying many parts from China. At present Chinese manufacturers already make analogs of a considerable share of European components. There are also Chinese components, which are one step ahead of European ones. We are trying to find a balance between what we buy in China and what we are starting to manufacture in-house. Such a balance will allow us to feel confident on the market.”
In his words, in-house development and manufacturing of key electric equipment, primarily pulling drives and transformers, have been key advantages of BKM Holding over competitors for many years. “Several years ago BKM Holding also started making drive batteries for electrobuses and trolleybuses with an increased autonomous range. If we talk about tram cars, then the motor bogie, including motor bogies for low-floor trams, is another product we've developed and now assemble in-house,” the director general said.
Taras Murog went on saying: “These are only the largest parts. There are also hundreds of smaller parts used to make the vehicles the company manufacturers. I should also mention the software, which our specialists also develop in house. A modern electric vehicle is an entire computer on wheels.”
On the whole, the localization rate of a standard vehicle (taking into account products made in-house – electronic modules, energy accumulation and transfer systems and so on) can be as high as 65-75%.
