Renault-Nissan increases Lada stake
New joint venture allows Renault-Nissan to take majority stake in Russian's largest car maker Avtovaz
The Renault-Nissan Alliance has acquired a majority shareholding in Russia’s largest car maker Avtovaz.
The deal to takeover Avtovaz, better known as Lada, has been done through a new joint venture between Renault-Nissan and the Russian Technologies State Corporation.
Renault-Nissan is to invest £461 million into the deal, acquiring 67.13 per cent of the joint venture, which will hold 74.5 per cent of Avtovaz.
“The joint venture will help accelerate our Russian market offensive. It will support the competitiveness of Avtovaz, Russia’s auto industry leader,” said Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of Renault-Nissan.
The joint venture is hoping to have a manufacturing capacity of at least 1.7 million cars in Russia by 2016. Production will take place at a new facility in Togliatti – which is already producing the Lada Largus and Nissan Almera – as well as further sites in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Izhevsk.
The Renault-Nissan alliance sold 878,990 cars in Russia in 2011, 578,387 of which were Ladas – a market share of almost 33 per cent.
