MINSK, 16 February (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has plans to inspect the premises of Motovelo Plant in the near future to finalize plans for the production of motorcycles and bicycles, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Nazarov told reporters following the meeting to discuss the development of the motorcycle and bicycle production in Belarus on 16 February, BelTA informs.
First of all, it is necessary to thrash out the future of the domestic production of motorcycles and bicycles as well as the huge premises of Motovelo Plant.
The deputy prime minister is convinced that Belarus should retain the production of motorcycles and bicycles. “The decision is simple: the company should go on and move forward. There were several development options. The president said that he would visit this site and take final decisions on the ground, up to which building will house a new production facility.
According to the vice-premier, several development options were discussed at the meeting with the president, including the establishment of a new high-tech production facility that will export the bulk of its output. “The largest consumer - the European Union – is just across the border. According to experts, its annual capacity is up to 30 million pieces of bicycles and motorcycles. We must first of all explore this market as we can sell our products with a good margin there. What products can be of interest to this market? Obviously, not the cheapest ones, because cheap is often perceived as substandard. You should roll out a quality product there,” Yuri Nazarov said.
“It is no longer possible to create a modern high-quality product on existing premises and with existing technologies. There is still room for growth. The company is set to double the production of bicycles by 2023. But this is no longer growth, but inertia. We suggested launching a brand-new business,” Yuri Nazarov noted.
According to experts, the consumption of motorcycles and bicycles is projected to grow by about 9% annually in the EU market, while electric transport is expected to be the main driver of growth. Belarus has the necessary competencies, its own knowhow in this area, in particular, the Optron plant.
One of the possible options for Motovelo Plant is to set up a new production using resources of the innovation fund of the capital city.
The plant occupies as much as about 27 hectares. Its idle premises might be transferred to the Minsk City Technopark. The technopark could launch production of component parts on this site, Yuri Nazarov added.
When asked whether Belarusian products will get a guaranteed access to the European market, the deputy prime minister said: “Why not? Indeed, there are certain restrictions. In order to sell electric motorcycles and bicycles on the European market, you need to get a certificate. Many companies in Belarus have similar European certificates. Therefore, there is no reason to be afraid of not getting access to this market. It is true, it is not easy to penetrate this market, but we need to work on this,” he stressed.
According to Yuri Nazarov, the export to the EU countries makes the most economic sense because of a good sales margin, growing market capacity and geographical proximity. “The point is not just to expand production or create, say, 100 jobs. We should strive for a fundamentally new high-tech production with maximum localization. Today localization makes 41%, and if this business idea is implemented, localization will increase to 60%, and this is good enough. It will be even better if we set up assembly factories on these premises as part of our localization effort,” the deputy prime minister concluded.
