Asian state’s president dumps Mercedes for Russian car

Kazakh leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was using an Aurus limousine during last week’s BRICS Summit in Kazan, according to media

The President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was driven around in a Russian-made Aurus Senat limousine during the BRICS Summit in Kazan last week and not in his Mercedes as expected, automobile website motor.ru has reported, citing sources.

Leaders from around the world gathered in the Russian city for the 16th BRICS Summit, which hosted more than 30 foreign delegations, with all the specialized transport arrangements such events involve.

According to the report, Tokayev’s Aurus Senat limousine was delivered straight from Kazakhstan, its license plates belonging to a series used by the Central Asian country’s state security service. Other world leaders at the international gathering were reportedly also driven in Aurus cars, however these were armored and provided by the so-called Special Purpose Garage of Russia’s Federal Protective Service (FSO).

Tokayev’s executive sedan had some distinguishing features, according to the report. There were no special communications antennas and no strobe lights near the front license plate. The vehicle also had original disc brakes, only recently been installed on Senat limousines.

Tokayev’s official state car has up to recently been an armored Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, motor.ru wrote, noting that the German sedan was also brought to Kazan as a reserve.

The website also wrote that there were no previous reports by the Kazakh government about the presence of a Russian Aurus in Tokayev’s official car park.

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Aurus is a line of luxury vehicles that was created in 2013 by order of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade with the aim of replacing the fleet of mostly foreign-made cars used by top Russian officials. Launched in 2021, the all-wheel-drive luxury sedan Aurus Senat is the presidential state car of Russia.

Aurus cars were originally intended as vehicles for state officials. However, it was later decided that the cars would be made available to the general public in both foreign and domestic markets. Last year, production was launched in the United Arab Emirates.

In 2022, media reported that the government of Turkmenistan bought an Aurus Senat as a state car.

In February, Vladimir Putin gifted an Aurus car to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In May, he presented an Aurus Senat to Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa during a visit by the monarch to Moscow.