Russian carmaker Severstal Auto has just announced that it has reached agreement with Fiat Auto to build the new Doblò light van range under license from 2007. The confirmation of the deal had been widely expected and it follows swiftly on from an initial agreement reached early last month for the Fiat Palio and Albea models to be built at the Severstal Auto-controlled ZMZ factory in Naberezhnye Chelny.

"Severstal Auto has reached a licensing agreement regarding the production in Russia of the multifunctional Fiat Doblò," a brief statement - issued by Severstal Auto yesterday - read. "Production will be launched in 2007 at the facilities of the company ZMA in Naberezhnye Chelny," it added.

Severstal Auto is one of Russia's major automotive holding companies. It holds controlling stakes in two of the country's biggest automobile factories: the Ulyanovsky Automobile Plant (UAZ) and Zavolzhsky Motor Works (ZMZ). Last year it reached an agreement with Korea's Ssanyong to build an SUV under license, with production commencing in December. The ZMZ Micro-Volume Automobile Plant at Naberezhnye Chelny in the Volga Region is currently receiving a US$17.6 million investment funded entirely by Severstal-Auto, and full production of the Fiat Palio hatchback, Albea sedan, and now the Doblò van, will use assembly capacity shortly to be freed up by the termination of production the Oka microcar.
 

The ZMZ plant is projected to assemble 30,000 units of the 'World Car' family (20,000 of the Fiat Albea, and 10,000 of the Fiat Palio) by 2008, according to Severstal Auto CEO Vadim Shvetsov, with these projected numbers scheduled to rise to around 40,000 by 2010. Now the new Doblò light van range has been added to the production equation, and after limited assembly commences next year, full capacity of 10,000 units per year is quickly expected to be reached by 2008, for the light commercial vehicle which was facelifted last September, and which won the important 'Van of the Year 2006' award.

Meanwhile, Severstal-Auto are also proceeding with an agreement to become Fiat Auto's main distributor in Russia, with ambitious plans to sell the entire Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and LCV range. By 2008 they plan to open fifty dealer and service centres across the country. The new Fiat Grande Punto was recently launched in Moscow.