Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has officially opened Sollers newest automobile manufacturing factory in Vladivostok; the new plant will build an array of vehicles including several versions of the Fiat Ducato destined for public service use in the Far East of Russia.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has officially opened Sollers newest automobile manufacturing factory in Vladivostok; the new plant will build an array of vehicles including several versions of the Fiat Ducato destined for public service use in the Far East of Russia.

The Sollers project was realised in cooperation with Russian state investment bank Vnesheconombank. The new factory was fully financed by the bank through a long-term credit extended by the Bank for Development. The project consists of building a new full cycle automotive plant with high component localisation levels and the pursuit of local development of component production. Total investment in the project will be 5 billion euros (US$170 million).

Putin, who is presently on a working tour of the Far East regions of Russia, inaugurated the production lines that will produce a wide range of Korean-developed off-roaders under SsangYong brand name (including production of the all-new SsangYong C200 SUV created in close cooperation with Sollers, by the end of 2010).

Sollers holds partnership deals with the Fiat Group (as well as in the area of light commercial vehicles through Ducato it has an alliance with the Group's CNH Global division to build iits agricultural and farming equipment), Isuzu, SsangYong and UAZ, and all four will be built at the new plant.

As well as building the SsangYong off-roaders, trucks under the Isuzu brand name and niche versions of the Russian UAZ Patriot off-roader, it will manufacture several specialised vehicles based on the Fiat Ducato van which will be destined for the Far East social infrastructure: passenger and school buses as well as emergency and armored vehicles.

During the first stage of its operations in 2010 production capacity of the Vladivostok plant will be 15,000 vehicles a year and this will rise up to 40,000 units by 2012. "Sollers is the first Russian automaker that opens new plant in Far East region. We consider that the most up-to-date production facilities and infrastructure that we create in Vladivostok may draw attention of other Asian automakers that still have no production in Russia. I do believe in success of this Project," commented Sollers CEO Vadim Shvetsov. Sollers also has Fiat Automobiles dealerships in Russia.