To meet growing for vehicles in Russia, Magna signs co-operation agreement with Russian companies owned by billionaire Oleg Deripaska.
With global sales of about US$23-billion per year, Magna is the world's third largest auto maker.
Headquartered in Aurora, Ontario, the Canadian auto parts company operates 228 manufacturing plants and 64 product development centers in 23 countries around the world. Until now, Magna had no presence in Russia. In the late 1980s the company ran a tooling shop in neighbouring Ukraine which was closed after only 3 years.
Magna signs an agreement with the Russian GAZ Group on November 18. The agreement was drafted to meet growing demand for vehicles in Russia. Magna will implement modern production techniques to make auto components in partnership with GAZ Group and its holding company Russkiye Mashiny. Both companies are owned by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska.
As reported by Bloomberg News, the announcement to sign the agreement didn't mention details about the size of the Russian project, investment, location, types of parts, job numbers or when production in Russia will start.
What is clear is that Russia continues to experience an economic boom as described in our article Risky Russian Trade. Growth in the former Soviet Union has proceeded for 8 years now, and has significantly increased consumer spending in including demand for automobiles.
