Russia - a priority market for General Motors

At the time, as a deal to sell a majority stake in Opel / Vauxhall, owned by General Motors, has not been completed, to anticipate the results prematurely. Nevertheless, it is necessary to evaluate some of the speculations that have emerged in connection with this transaction recently in the Russian media. Chris Gabby, president and managing director of General Motors in Russia and CIS: "Some of the publications in the Russian media speculated that GM does not want a sale, Opel alliance Magna / Savings due to the presence in the transaction the investor from Russia. With full responsibility I want to say to journalists, making such assumptions, it is not so. Both dealt with to date, offers to buy shares in Opel / Vauxhall estimated by General Motors' solely from a business point of view, without any national bias was. To confirm this, I would like to mention only a few facts about the role of GM in the Russian automotive industry and to emphasize that regardless of the outcome of the sale of Opel, the Russian market will remain for GM's key global: GM today - the largest foreign automaker in Russia by sales volume. Our dealer network includes more than 150 dealers operating throughout the country. GM - one of the biggest investors and employers in the automotive industry in Russia. Today in GM employs more than 2,000 Russians. For the past 7 years successfully operating our joint project with AvtoVAZ - a joint venture "GM - AvtoVAZ", which produces the best-selling SUV in Russia, Chevrolet Niva. We successfully cooperate with the Savings Bank of Russia in the field of design and implementation of retail lending for the purchase of our vehicles. Over a year ago we started working on the creation of another joint venture with major Russian automaker, launched more than just the creation of joint production, but will also involve the use of intellectual property GM to create and deliver advanced models. Already this year, GM plans to launch at its Russian plant new models - the world premiere. First, it will be Chevrolet Cruze, a little later the new Opel Astra and other models. GM is doing and continues to rely on the Russian market, regardless of who ultimately becomes the buyer Opel / Vauxhall. I want to reiterate that the decision of GM to determine the final buyer will not depend on any of he country, but solely on the attractiveness of the offer. We came to Russia a good long time and continue to focus our efforts on the Russian automotive market ".