PRESS: Kamaz to participate in construction of Mercedes-Benz plant

MOSCOW, Aug 26 (PRIME) – Major Russian truck maker Kamaz will become a partner in construction of a Russian car plant of Mercedes-Benz, business daily Vedomosti reported Friday quoting Mercedes-Benz Rus CEO Jan Madeja as saying.

Daimler and Kamaz have a joint venture Daimler Kamaz Rus, a member of a multilateral industrial assembly agreement with AvtoVAZ, Reanult and Nissan. The agreement grants benefits for imports of car components in exchange for boosting capacities and localization. Kamaz will contribute to the plant’s construction through an industrial assembly agreement, but will make no investment, a representative of the company told Vedomosti.

Daimler Kamaz Rus produces Mercedes-Benz and Fuso trucks and is building a 400 million euro cab frame plant. But representatives of Mercedes-Benz Rus and Kamaz did not say whether they plan to include Mercedes-Benz cars into the industry assembly agreement, which expires in 2020.

Previously, the Industry and Trade Ministry said that the plant will be constructed in the Yesipovo industrial park of the Moscow Region, but the company did not officially confirm it. Madeja told the business daily that Daimler wants to coordinate framework conditions before constructing the plant as it has to know what will happen after the industry assembly agreement expires.

The project’s conditions should be clear and consistent for at least the next 10 years, as the project includes significant investment. The company plans to define the conditions in a special investment contract soon. The contract formalizes preferences from the state in exchange for investment of at least 750 million rubles, the business daily said.

(64.9459 rubles – U.S. $1)

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