An extension at the Ford-Vsevolozhsk factory in the Leningrad Region is a new shop to assemble Land Rovers, sources have told kommersant.com.
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Russian Ford president Henric Nenzen, reportedly wouldn’t comment in Tyumen on Wednesday but promised to make a definite statement about the company’s facilities by late this year, specifying whether it would be another plant, extension of existing production or a second model.
The latest news contrasted with a 1 August Prime-Tass report that said the Vsevolozhsk plant planned to increase output 10% to 73,000 cars in 2007 and had won new tax breaks in place of ones lost earlier this year in a row with the authorities over producing car parts locally.
“The company plans to produce 60,000 cars (in Russia) in 2006 and expects a 10% increase to 73,000 cars in 2007,” Ford Europe vice president James Tetreault reportedly said during a meeting with Leningrad region governor Valery Serdyukov, according to the news agency.
Prime-Tass said then that the plant currently produces Ford’s European Focus but would add the Mondeo line in 2007 and Maverick SUVs soon after.
Kommersant.vom said Vsevolozhsk will assemble a new model in 2007 and sources had told it a special shop for Land Rovers is being constructed there. Construction started last month and would take 18 months. Dealers have also said Ford is willing to assemble its new Freelander 2 in Russia. The new SUV will be shown at the Moscow motor show this autumn with sales starting from late this year or early next year. Around 15,000 a year would be built in Russia, the sources said.
“The decision on production extension hasn’t been made yet,” spokeswoman Yekaterina Kulinenko told kommersant.com on Wednesday.
The report added that Russian sales of Land Rovers climbed 67% to 4,080 in 2005, including 833 Freelanders. The new Freelander will have either a 2.2-litre diesel engine or 3.2-litre petrol unit and cost at least $US34,000
The Russian Freelanders will be built from CKD kits. Under an agreement signed by Ford and the Economic Development and Trade Ministry in late July, Ford has to localise the production of car bodies in Russia within 18 months after launching the production of Land Rovers in the country, Kommersant said.
