MIASS, Chelyabinsk Region. Oct 16 (Interfax-AVN) - The local Ural automobile plant will manufacture over 10,000 automobile this year, which is a 15-percent growth from last year's figures, Director General of the AutoUral Trading House Valery Selin said on Wednesday.
"The year's target figure is 10,238 automobiles, and it will be reached," Selin told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"In line with the stock of orders for 2002, we intend to sell about 6,000 Ural automobiles on the domestic market and about 5,000 automobiles on the international market," he said.
According to the director general, new contracts have been signed for automobile supplies to CIS member nations and other foreign countries. The Ural-43206 biaxial military off-roader is in the highest demand abroad, he said.
"We have sold some 1,500 vehicles of this series to foreign customers this year. Urals are procured by Egypt, Iraq, Angola and other states," Selin noted.
Ural vehicles are operated by Russian law-enforcement agencies, the official said. "However our supplies to the Defense Ministry have not been high lately," he said. Russia's law- enforcers buy 200 to 250 vehicles a year from the Ural plant.
Speaking about new developments, Selin said that the Ural- 43206 biaxial cargo off-roader was being tested in the North Caucasus. Russia's border guards have displayed interest in the vehicle.
Ural Chief Constructor Alexander Vedernikov said Ural-43206 was initially intended for operation in extreme mountain conditions, namely for delivery of personnel, materiel, food and ammunition to mountain checkpoints and pickets. The vehicle is powered by the YaMZ-236 diesel engine developing 180hp. The engine was designed by the Yaroslavl plant. The new vehicle is lighter, more maneuverable, more economical and cheaper in operation that its triaxial analogue Ural-4320.
"We put high hopes on the Ural-5323 quadriaxial off-roader with all-wheel drive that is being supplied to the Defense Ministry. The vehicle can be used for transportation of pontoons, missiles and other special equipment," Vedernikov said.
Ural-5323 is powered by the YaMZ-238B liquid-cooled turbo- supercharging diesel engine developing 300hp. The vehicle has a centralized system of tire pressure control operated from the driver's seat, which provides for changing the tire pressure while crossing the terrain with low load-bearing ability and for continuing the movement after bullets or splinters hit the tires. The weight of cargo mounted on the chassis can reach 11 tonnes and the full weight of a towed trailer 16 tonnes.