Two of the largest automobile plants in Russia, Hyundai and Ford, are to use steel supplied by Russian producer Severstal for their car production. Before foreign automobile producers in Russia used only imported material. The annual demand of automobile factories in St. Petersburg is 300,000-500,000 mt of rolled metal, worth up to €450 million. Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) is expected to compete for this market with Severstal.
Severstal reports that its subsidiary Cherepovets Steel Mill has already started to supply rolled metal to Hyundai's plant in St. Petersburg and will start to supply material to Ford's plant in Vsevolozhsk in July. In August, Severstal plans to start delivery of metal to Volkswagen's plant in Kaluga.
In 2010, Renault's plant in Moscow bought 12,500 mt of rolled steel from Severstal and plans to buy 36,000 mt this year.