Russia steel-maker Severstal has signed a major contract to supply the Renault-Nissan-AvtoVAZ alliance with rolled steel from March to June 2015, according to an ENP newswire report. Severstal will supply steel to the group's two biggest production sites in Russia; Renault's Avtoframos plant in Moscow and AvtoVAZ's main Togliatti plant which now manufactures Lada, Datsun and Renault models. Severstal's Cherepovets Steel Mill, which will manufacture for the Renault-Nissan-AvtoVAZ steel contract, also continues to supply steel to GM Uzbekistan for production Daewoo and Chevrolet cars under a one-year contract that began in January according to the report.
Significance: Severstal is increasing its business in terms of supplying the Russian automotive industry, despite the extremely tough conditions for the Russian market. It has also been delivering rolled steel to Volkswagen (VW) Group Rus under a one-year contract. In 2014, Severstal also began supplying hot-dip galvanised steel for making components for the VW Polo which is assembled at VW Group Russia's plant in Kaluga. It currently supplies General Motors (GM), Hyundai-Kia, PSA Peugeot-Citroën, Mefro Wheels and VW Group Rus. Severstal delivered a total of 210 tonnes of rolled steel to international automakers in 2014, which represented a 6% increase on 2013 – a strong result given the pressure the market was under. The company will have an inherent advantage over foreign steel producers importing steel components as a result of the current weakness of the rouble.
