The Vsevolozhsk facility was the first foreign-owned vehicle-manufacturing plant in Russia in the modern era and has built more than 500,000 vehicles over the past decade.
The auto maker has spent more than €500 million to modernize and upgrade the car plant. In total, it is investing more than €675 million in the Craiova engine- and vehicle-manufacturing complex.
The U.S. auto maker says it plans to spend $1 billion in Russia over the next five years. The investment includes boosting capacity not only at GM Auto in St. Petersburg but also its JV with AvtoVAZ in Togliatti.
It’s unclear whether the deferral is related to last week’s announcement by CEO Sergio Marchionne that the Italian auto maker will cut cutting investment in Europe by about €500 million this year.
Based on the MissionL concept unveiled at last year’s Frankfurt auto show, the Rapid is the first series car to fully feature the Volkswagen Group brand’s newly formulated design language.
For AvtoVAZ, whose huge manufacturing complex last month celebrated production of its 27 millionth car since 1970, the Almera will be the first car it produces under a foreign brand.