The Russian Trade Ministry has agreed the German automaker Daimler AG can begin the assembly of Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the Moscow region, the Deputy Director of Transportation Vsevolod Babushkin said.
“The plan has been approved by the ministry and is currently awaiting the green light from the regional authorities,” RT cited Babushkin as saying.
He says negotiations are still underway, and there is no start date set.
Daimler plans to localize production of Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the Esipovo Industrial Park in the Moscow region. The new plant will assemble E-Class, S-Class, A-Class model sedans as well as ML and GL models. The company intends to produce 25,000 cars annually.
The assembly of vehicles in Russia will allow the Germans access to state purchase contracts.
The German company currently has a joint venture with KAMAZ, which produces trucks under the Mercedes-Benz brand in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan. Daimler also has an assembly line for Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Classic minibuses at the Nizhny Novgorod facilities of Russian auto maker GAZ Group.
