Truck and diesel engine specialist Isuzu Motors on Wednesday said that it had agreed with Russia’s OAO Severstal-Avto to consider a small trucks joint venture.
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Isuzu has already been supplying parts for small trucks to OAO Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, which is under the control of OAO Severstal-Avto, and will now discuss deeper ties, the Japanese automaker said in a statement cited by Reuters, which noted that Japanese trading house Sojitz is also involved in the talks.
“Isuzu has positioned the CIS (group of ex-Soviet) nations as one of the most important markets in the future,” the automaker said, according to the news agency, which added that the Japanese automaker had launched manufacturing and sales activities in Ukraine in 1998 and in Uzbekistan in 2006.
“Based on these experiences, Isuzu together with the other two parties will study the establishment of a joint venture company engaged in manufacturing and sales with a view to develop and expand business activities in Russia, the biggest market among the CIS nations,” it added, according to the report.
The company sees sales for 2007 in the CIS states of 10,000 units, with the potential for 50,000 units “in the near future”, Reuters said.
