At the end of August, U.S. automaker General Motors announced that it expects to invest in the expansion of vehicle production in the Russian Federation and in the production of automotive components approximately USD1 billion in the next five years. The head of international operations of GM Tim Lee made the announcement.

The American auto maker, which is producing cars in Russia at three production sites – in St. Petersburg, Togliatti, and Kaliningrad – is planning to invest substantial funds in increasing production capacity, as well as in the localization of production chain manufacturing.

GM will spend about 10 percent of the funds earmarked for the project on constructing a stamped body parts plant in St. Petersburg, according to Mr. Lee.

Lee also said that GM along with its partner AvtoVAZ plans to invest on a par basis in capacity expansion of the plant from 70,000 vehicles to 120,000 vehicles. GM owns half of the joint venture GM-AvtoVAZ.