COMMERCIAL MOTOR PROSPECTS IN RUSSIA.
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Ill-success Having Followed the Attempt to Build Motor Vehicles on the Spot, the Co-operative Societies and Trusts, as well as the Russian Government, may be Substantial Buyers.
'By Henry Sturmey.
AS a potential market for motor vehicles of all kinds; and particularly for motor wagons, Russia is immense, but, owing to the peculiarpolitical and economic conditions which prevail there at the present time, progress is likely to be slow, although eventually, when capital and enterprise are allowed full swing once more, as there is no doubt they ultimately will be, the field for the motor trade will be very large.
Some information obtained, without reference to politics, which I have just seen is interesting. This goes to show that about 1,500 cars of all kinds were imported last year, and it is understood that the majority of them were commercial vehicles. Also that, for some years to come, the bulk of the motor imports there will consist of cars for commercial purposes, because there are practically no private people in a .position to buy cars in Russia to-day, let alone having the temerity to use them, the ears that are there being almost exclusively used by the Government officials and by the State-owned or assisted factories. Although over 17,000 motorcars were in use in Russia when the war terminated, a large proportion of these have dropped to pieces, so that, on January 1st of this year, the total number of cars registered was only 11,042, of which, as above said, 1,500 were imported during the past year.
As a matter of fact, the Bolsheviks thought they were going to be able to do without foreign help in motorcars, and established a Government Motorcar Building Trust, which took over a factory in the neighbourhood of Moscow and endeavoured to produce cars. A li-ton lorry, using the Fiat model of that capacity as a copy, was selected and a Government order for _420 machines placed with this factory ; but at the end of ten months only 40 Of them were half ready, and it was impossible to complete them, because of the lack of material and the inferior quality of the steel—produced by another State-owned department—arid also because of _ the dearth of skilled mechanics and others possessing the necessary knowledge to produce the machines.
Three Very Expensive Lorries.
As a matter of fact, only three of these ears were actually completed, and the estimated cost of these was , no less than £1,735 each, of which £915 was "overhead charges," which shows—what we all know in this country; of course—the expensiveness of State ownership and bureaucratic organization of anything. The experience with this unfortunate venture to 'a certain extent brought the Government to its senses, and, as already mentioned, a number of purchases was inade, the Russian Government, as is already known here, having, of course, the sole right of importation of all things into Russia.
The international motor trials which took place in the autumn of the present year from Leningrad to Moscow, some 3,500 kilometres, were only poorly patronized, but it is satisfactory to European producers toeknow that the results led the organizing committee to the conclusion that American cars are more expensive to run than European patterns and that 'it would be more advantageous to purchase European types, and, as a consequence, orders for a number of 31-ton and other capacity lorries were placed with British, German and Italian makers. Russian requirements in motor wagons are ,stated to call for vehicles of 11-ton to 33-ton capacity, and low petrol consumption takes a prominent place in the requirements of the buyers, on account of the high price of petrol in Russia, which is about 10 per cent. more than is the Case in France. Seeing that the Government is practically the only purchaser of motor wagons for use by the various Government departments and State-controlled and partially controlled factories, it is worth noting that it appears to be the desire of the Soviet authorities to standardize on one or two makes and types when what they consider a suitable selection has been made, so that if firms here are able to arrange the terms of purchase which the Russians require, whilst a big trade is not to be looked for for some considerable time, itshould be worth the while of British companies producing suitable vehicles to make an effort to get their types selected, on which point it is worthy of note that British manufacturers have not been altogether lacking in enterprise, as some people seem to imagine, because, during the nine months ending June last, British firms supplied only eight tons of motor vehicles less than the U.S.A., the respective importations from these two countries being :—U.S.A., 297 tons; Great Britain, 289 tons, the rest of the 1,161 tons imported being shared between Italy, Germany and France, in the order named.
It is understood that the Government is realizing itS dependency for transport upon motor vehicles, and that, realizing also its own inability to produce them, it is now in a favourable mind to arrange concessions, not only for the importation of such vehicles, but also, if any firm has the enterprise and confidence to embark upon it, for the actual manufacture of cars and trucks in Russia.
So far as tractors are concerned, however, there is a much more likely field for immediate business, because the Soviet authorities have realized that Russian agricultural methods are out of date and, as the Government is very largely dependent for money to finance its import trade on the exports of grain, it is encouraging the use of machinery on the farms, and, it is understood, imported, or intended to import—which may not be quite the same thing—this year, some 4,000 tractors, there already being in Russia about 7,000. Most of the importations are, I believe, Fordsone, on account of the low price and trading facilities which can be given by the Ford company ; but, as the authorities are said to be arranging to import a further 20,000 tractors early in the coming year, it should be quite worth while for those of our home "producers who can supply a suitable tractor to make an effort to get after this trade.
The trade is done chiefly through Government trusts and co-operative societies, with about 5 per cent. through the channels of private trade, but all imported goods have to be bought by the purchasing departments in foreign countries of the Russian Government, which, it is understood, will purchase, for the co-operative societies and other buyers, the particular makes and types of machine specified, so that the policy would be, if not able directly to interest the Government itself, to endeavour to get in touch and secure the support of the co-operative societies and trusts, as well as of such few private importers as exist.