You're reading: Mazda to soon sign final joint venture deal with Russia’s Sollers

MOSCOW (Interfax) - Mazda and Russia's Sollers group could soon finalize an agreement to form a joint venture to produce automobiles in Primorye, the Japanese automaker's executive director for global sales and marketing, Masahiro Moro told reporters on March 20.

He did not specify the amount of investment or scale of the project, but said there are plans to produce two models and that the venture would probably launch operations at the end of 2012 or beginning of 2013.

It was reported earlier that the venture could initially produce 25,000-50,000 vehicles, and that about $80 million would be invested in the project.

Moro did not confirm these figures. The companies have made good progress and will probably be able to provide specifics about the project soon, he said, adding that he did not want to disclose details as the companies move toward the final stage of negotiations.

Mazda estimates that about 60% of global automobile sales are in emerging markets, and these countries are not capacity of supporting the development of new technologies, Moro said. The company is not using hybrid and electric technologies because they are expensive and require the creation of additional infrastructure, he said.

The head of Mazda in Russia, Joerg Schreiber said the company plans to increase sales in Russia to 48,000 vehicles in 2012 from 40,000 last year. However, this is still far from the more than 70,000 Mazda vehicles sold in Russia in pre-crisis 2008.

Schreiber said that last year the company opened an automobile warehouse in Novosibirsk to simplify delivery of vehicles by rail, and increased automobile shipments through a terminal in Ust-Luga.