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Patria and Valmet Automotive plan to begin making armoured vehicles at the Valmet car plant in Uusikaupunki on Finland's west coast. The two majority-state-owned firms said on Friday that they have signed a letter of intent to manufacture and test armoured vehicles at the facility. In recent years, Patria has significantly boosted manufacturing at its own factories in Hämeenlinna, Finland and Valmiera, Latvia. Patria's Executive Vice President of Protected Mobility, Jussi Järvinen, said that there is "rising demand" for the company's armoured vehicles. "Patria's production levels are well positioned to fulfil all existing orders; however, we are seeking additional capacity. Therefore, Patria is now considering a partnership...with Valmet Automotive in manufacturing our armoured vehicles," he said in a Friday press release. Valmet Automotive CEO Pasi Rannus hailed the preliminary agreement as "a concrete demonstration of the progress of our strategy extending beyond the automotive industry" and "a major first step for us in contract manufacturing in the defence sector". Patria noted the importance of the Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) programme, which was launched by the Finnish and Latvian ministries of defence in 2020. It is aimed at developing a shared armoured 6x6 vehicle system for the participating countries. Last month, the UK and Norway joined the Finnish-led programme, which already includes Germany, Latvia, Sweden and Denmark. The Finnish defence manufacturer said that it has already received orders for nearly 1,000 Patria 6x6 vehicles through the CAVS programme alone. The vehicles are being made by Patria in Finland and Latvia and by partners in Poland and Slovakia, while technology transfer deals are underway for Germany and Japan. Valmet and Patria said they are still negotiating on the details of the Uusikaupunki plan. Jobs impact still unclear For Valmet Automotive, the deal could be a shot in the arm jobs-wise. Its current contract to manufacture Mercedes-Benz cars in Uusikaupunki expires a month from now. However, Rannus declined to speculate when asked by Yle about the possible employment ramifications of the deal – or when production of armoured vehicles might actually begin. "We're famous for how quickly we can start manufacturing. It will be announced separately when the final agreements are agreed, but we are known for starting production quickly and with high quality," he told Yle. He also said that the company planned to continue manufacturing passenger cars at the plant, and is in talks with several carmakers on possible production. Last month, the state of Finland became the majority owner of the car factory when the Chinese battery giant CATL sold its 20-percent stake in Valmet Automotive, amid slow electric car sales in Europe. The Finnish government said it would inject an additional 35 million euros of new capital into the plant, which said it might cut more than 1,000 jobs. That follows 400 redundancies announced last spring. Meanwhile, Finland is joining Nato's PURL arms initiative (Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List), under which weapons for Ukraine will be purchased from the United States, as announced two weeks ago by Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen (NCP).
