Renault, a 25% shareholder in Avtovaz, is ready to invest in the ailing auto giant, Russia’s deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov said on Tuesday though the French automaker said the additional investment might not be in cash.
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“The most important thing is that Renault has confirmed strategic interest in the development of Avtovaz,” Shuvalov said. “Renault is ready to invest in Avotvaz,” he added, without giving further details. Shuvalov also said the amount of funding would be determined after AvtoVAZ unveils its investment programme.
A Renault spokeswoman told Reuters there were other possible ways to help aside from offering cash, including developing models on AvtoVAZ production lines to replace outdated models.
Prime minister Vladimir Putin warned Renault last week that its stake in Avtovaz could be diluted unless it provided help for Avtovaz, which has already announced plans to cut a quarter of its workforce, news agency AFP noted.
Russian business daily Kommersant had reported earlier that AvtoVAZ needed 70bn roubles (US$2.33bn) to stay afloat.
On Friday, Putin delivered an ultimatum to Renault to either help finance AvtoVAZ or see its stake reduced.
