Mazda Motor Europe has received government approval to establish a local distribution company in Moscow.
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The new national sales company (NSC) in Russia will commence operations next April.
The automaker is expanding the scope of what had been its representative office in Moscow by injecting 100% of the capital into the new NSC with the goal of further strengthening sales in the rapidly growing Russian market.
The new company is called “Mazda Motor Rus OOO” (OOO is the Russian equivalent of limited liability company).
The current representative office in Russia was set up in December 2004 and its head, Joerg Schreiber, has been appointed managing director of the new NSC.
This will unify several aspects of the business in Russia, including importation and distribution of vehicles, parts and accessories; technical skills training and marketing.
The new NSC has an initial 20 employees.
“Russia was our fastest growing market last year in Europe,” noted Mazda Motor Europe head James Muir.
The automaker began full operations in Russia in 2003 and 2005’s 21,120 sales were up almost 150% on 2004’s, making Mazda the fastest growing brand in Russia for two consecutive years.
Further growth is expected this year, with 28,000 unit sales projected for 2006, up 30% compared to 2005.
In recent years, Mazda has steadily replaced its independent distributors across continental Europe with wholly-owned ‘factory shop’ NSCs.
