CHERKESSK, Russia — Derways, one of Russia's largest auto plants, has launched a new line for the assembly of Chinese cars with a capacity of 100,000 cars a year. The main brand to come out of the plant will be Geely, with Lifan and Great Wall models planned as well.
This year, Geely plans to produce 16,000 cars priced at the equivalent of about $11,000. Derways will also launch the production of Lifan and Great Wall models. According to the Association of European Businesses in the Russian Federation, last year 7,681 Geely cars were sold in Russia, making it the most popular Chinese auto brand in the country.
The total amount of investment in the project is estimated at the equivalent of $85 million. Alexander Romanov, Director General of Derways, said this year the plant will produce 25,000 Chinese cars and will achieve full capacity by 2014.
Derways bills itself as "the first private automobile company in Russia" with "100 percent Russian development." It was established in 2002 and currently produces the Lifan Breez sedan and hatchback.
Derways will be the first Russian auto plant to begin full-scale assembly of Chinese cars. Earlier, similar plans were announced by Avtotor, which says it plans to build 250,000 Chinese cars a year.
Several months ago, Great Wall announced the company's intention to build its own auto plant in Russia, but the Chinese company was unable to reach an agreement with the Russian government and abandoned the project.
Inside Line says: The world gets smaller. — Evgeniy Vorotnikov, Correspondent
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