GAZ Group's Plant May Start Making Opels Within 9 Months
01 Juni 2009 - 5:34PM
Dow Jones News
Russian automaker OAO GAZ Group (GAZA.RS) could manufacture Opel
cars at its Nizhny Novgorod plant within six to nine months if
General Motors Corp. (GM) hands control of its European business to
Magna International Inc. (MGA), GAZ said Monday.
Magna has won backing from the German government for its bid to
take control of Opel with financing from state-controlled Russian
lender OAO Sberbank (SBER.RS), and GAZ is acting as an "industrial
partner" on the deal.
Until Russia entered recession this winter, the country's car
market was the fastest growing in Europe. However, most of the cars
sold in the country are imported, and Russia's government has
recently sought to foster the development of its domestic car
industry.
The car assembly line at GAZ's Nizhny Novgord plant was refitted
last year to manufacture the Siber, a sedan based on an old
Chrysler model, and has a capacity of 180,00 vehicles a year. GAZ
said the line could also be used to make Opel models.
GM last year sold 338,000 cars in Russia.
Company Web site: www.gazgroup.ru
-By Will Bland, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 937 8445;
william.bland@dowjones.com