Volvo investing in truck facility in Russia

May 1, 2007
The Volvo Group is investing a total of SEK 935 million in an assembly facility for trucks in Russia. The investment is being made to meet increasing

The Volvo Group is investing a total of SEK 935 million in an assembly facility for trucks in Russia. The investment is being made to meet increasing demand on the fast-growing markets in Russia and the former nations of the Soviet Union. The new facility will have a capacity of 10,000 Volvo trucks and 5,000 Renault trucks per year.

The facility will be in Kaluga, about 200 kilometers southwest of Moscow. A final agreement with the authorities in Kaluga is expected to be signed soon, and the new facility is scheduled to be completed in 2009.

Sales on the Russian market of new Western trucks have increased by nearly 100% annually during the past two years, and the Volvo Group's sales on the Russian market have had a similar development. Since 2003, sales of new Volvo trucks have grown from slightly less than 500 vehicles to 2,500 in 2006. Renault Trucks, which became established on the Russian market in 2004, sold 600 trucks in 2006.

Through the sales of mainly used trucks, Renault Trucks also has built a strong position on the Russian market. About 12,000 Renault trucks are in operation in Russia. It has 17 service centers in that nation.

Volvo Trucks already has 31 authorized service locations throughout Russia.