Russian carmaker and Ford local partner Sollers and Mazda have signed an agreement to produce up to 100,000 cars annually in the Primorsky region of Russia’s far east, governor Vladimir Miklushevsky said at a meeting with prime minister Vladimir Putin.
“Now Sollers signed two agreements with Mazda and plans to enter an annual production of 100,000 cars. It is a full assembly production. I believe this is a very serious prospect, because car production produces a high multiplicative effect,” Miklushevsky was quoted as saying by Prime News.
The Sollers-Far East enterprise started operations in December 2009 and currently produces SsangYong off-road vehicles.
In November 2011, Sollers and Mazda signed a memorandum of cooperation to set up a joint venture in the city of Vladivostok, to produce cars.
“We are now discussing with colleagues an issue associated with localisation of production, I mean the production of automotive components. It is also a strong multiplier that generates a large number of jobs on the one hand, and on the other hand, creates new technologies,” Miklushevsky said, adding that local scientists would be involved in the production.
Mazda expects its car sales in Russia to grow over 20% in 2012 to 48,000 cars. This year, the company launches three new models – the ??5, ??9 and 6.
