Ex-Toyota plant in St. Petersburg to start production of Senat cars
Car production at the former Toyota plant in St. Petersburg is scheduled to restart in 2026. The production of cars will be set up by the domestic Aurus together with a friendly partner, Vedomosti reported on September 19.
Kirill Polyakov, the vice-governor of the city, spoke about the process of restarting the plant, but he did not disclose details about the foreign partner.
According to a source familiar with the organization of production at the site, cars under the Senat brand will be produced at the ex-Toyota plant, the line will include two sedans and one SUV. It is noteworthy that the "Senate" is already called the Aurus luxury sedan, which is produced for both the Special Purpose Garage (GON), as well as for officials and private clients.
The former Toyota plant has been idle since March 2022. Prior to that, the assembly site had been operating for 15 years, it was the first car assembly plant in St. Petersburg. The Camry and RAV4 models were assembled at the plant, its capacity allowed to produce up to 100 thousand cars per year. The closure of the plant became known in September 2022.
On June 6 last year, it became known that the agreement on plans to launch production of premium cars at the site of the former Toyota plant was signed by Alexander Beglov, Governor of St. Petersburg, and Andrey Pankov, CEO of Aurus, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). In November of the same year, Alexey Yakovlev, Deputy head of the Committee for Industrial Policy, Innovation and Trade in St. Petersburg, confirmed that the restart of the former Toyota plant in St. Petersburg had been postponed indefinitely.
Later, on March 17, 2025, it was reported that the former Toyota plant in Shushary, St. Petersburg, was being prepared for deconservation, and Aurus was looking for specialists to work at this site.
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