Yo-auto Delays Opening Of Yo-Mobile Plant
Published: September 5, 2012 (Issue # 1725)
MOSCOW — Automaker Yo-auto has postponed the launch of its Yo-Mobile plant from the second half of 2012 to late 2014 or early 2015, said Yo-auto’s chief executive Andrei Biryukov, who is leaving the company but will continue to participate in the project as an investor, Interfax reported.
Yo-auto is a joint venture between Mikhail Prokhorov’s Onexim Group and Yarovit Motors.
Biryukov attributed the delay to problems with a U.S. subcontractor manufacturing the body for the Yo-Mobile car model.
The Yo-Mobile hybrid electric car has attracted widespread public attention. Its catchy name has been used as a marketing technique, while the model is hailed by some observers as a rare example of innovation in Russia and criticized by others for presumed design flaws.