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“Gray” “KAMAZ” is not a “KAMAZ” Truck

“Kama Automobile Plant” has lowered cost of 46 positions of the most important and needed for customer spare parts of high demand.

This special action is the measure of the company against illegal production and turnover of details, blocks and aggregates for Kama trucks, and aimed at extermination of so called “gray” market of spare parts. This campaign foresees the considerable price lowering (by 20% to 40%) for the most popular articles, those, which find their customer very quick and, thus, attract illegal manufacturers.

So, the recommendation of the meeting on the analysis of spare parts market was accomplished. The largest authorized dealers and partners-manufacturers of KAMAZ Inc participated in this meeting. This action is carried out notwithstanding the constant, from month to month, growth of retail volume of output of the automobile giant in Russia and CIS. The production share of spare parts of gross production volume is near 20 %. Thus, within 8 months of 2003 KAMAZ has retailed spare parts of 3 billion rubles. It is 12% more compared with the same period of last year. KAMAZ spare parts keep market of foreign countries, where trucks are delivered. E.g., just the recently signed contract with China foresees purchasing by this country of $100.000 spare parts, taking into consideration that during 10 years KAMAZ almost didn’t provide it with trucks. More than 70 000 truck units, sold to China in time of USSR, need repairing.

But, real and percentage indicators of growth don’t reach a desired level. The reason is clear: this level of spare parts production is much further down the list of acknowledged international standards of their sale vs. the sale of trucks of this class. Moreover, it is not enough for establishing of appropriate company service of vehicle. The retail of this kind of output forms not less than 30% of earnings from sales of the leading vehicle manufacturers.

This particularly market mechanism of impact on “gray” business should convince a customer one more time, that purchasing and operation of original spare parts instead “gray” is more secure and profitable. Acting this way, Kama plant, first of all, induces final customer to purchase spare parts only in company trade net: at trade houses, service centres and by authorized KAMAZ dealers. Second, numerous independent businessmen and those who sale after get the incentive to purchase not poor output with low quality by illegal manufacturers, but KAMAZ output certified according to National Standard (GOST), without a risk to be caught by jurisdiction and control bodies of the country. Third, authorized and independent dealers with the certificate and license of KAMAZ can improve financial positions of their companies, due to more intense work at the market without so called “adjusting” actions from Trade Company of KAMAZ, with which they have signed the agreement.

This conception has been worked out by the experts of Sale and Service Department of KAMAZ Inc. together with economic services of the company. The reaction of dealers on this action of KAMAZ (probably the first in Russia, taking into consideration so popular output as spare parts) shows that increasing sales volumes compensate “evident” losses caused by price reduction. E.g., KAMAZ dealer in the South of Russia – “KAMAZ – Don” Ltd. has increased its order for plates 11-1601093 by 150%, “RenAutoCenter” Ltd. in Naberezhnye Chelny city covered its usual purchasing norm of cylinder 740-1000128 by 110%.

There shouldn’t be any “gray” KAMAZ truck at all – that’s the motto of Kama Automobile plant. It is not a KamAZ truck, even if it looks like KamAZ, if equipped with any non company, and as a consequence of low quality, assemblies. Warranties and beneficial service of the enterprise are not applied to such truck. That’s the meaning of drastic low in price for the wide range of spare parts.