Suzuki to build car plant in Russia
Suzuki Motor Corporation has decided to build a new automobile assembly production plant in St Petersburg to meet the growing demand for new cars in the Russian market. The 243,000 square metre sized plant will be built in St Petersburg’s Shushary industrial zone.
An agreement on the new plant’s construction was signed on 8 June, 2007 by Suzuki’s Chairman and CEO, Osamu Suzuki, and Russia’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Herman Gref, who were attending the St Petersburg Economic Forum.
Mr Suzuki also signed a memorandum with the Governor of St Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko, agreeing to conduct studies on strategic investment in the Shushary industrial zone.
The St Petersburg plant will represent an investment of approximately 90 million euro (14 billion Japanese yen) and is scheduled to start operating in the latter half of 2009. Models planned for production are the Grand Vitara compact sport utility vehicle and the SX4 sport crossover vehicle.
With 500 employees in the new plant, Suzuki targets production of 5,000 units in the plant’s first year of operation and future annual production of 30,000 units. In 2006, Suzuki’s 30 dealers in Russia sold 16,000 units of the Grand Vitara and other models.
Overview of new plant
Company name (tentative): SUZUKI AUTO MFG RUS LLC
Location: St Petersburg’s Shushary industrial zone
Investment ratio: 50% Suzuki Motor Corporation, 50% Itochu Corporation
Plant site area: 243,000 sqm
Total investment: approx. 90 million euro (14 billion Japanese yen)
Models to be produced: Grand Vitara and SX4
Number of employees: 500
About Suzuki
SUZUKI Motor Corporation, with headquarters in Hamamatsu, Japan, is the global leader in the mini car segment and the world’s 12th largest automobile manufacturer. The corporation with three principal lines of business – Automobile, Motorcycle and Marine – has, since 1999, reported successive record figures for production, sales and turnover.
The Suzuki Group employs a workforce of 45.510 and distributes its products in 187 countries. In the fiscal year 2006/2007 turnover was 19.4 billion euro (3,163 billion yen), 15.2 percent higher than the previous year’s result. The worldwide sales included, among other products, 2.22 million cars and 3.06 million motorcycles. Suzuki has 36 main production plants in 22 countries.
With its “Way of Life!” marketing strategy the Suzuki brand has attributes of excitement, a straightforward business approach, value for money, sporting performance and a strong team spirit. The values are incorporated in innovative products tailored to customers’ needs, a long and successful history in motor sport, a commitment to supporting global rally sport and impressive competence in the off-road and 4×4 sectors across almost 100 years of company history.
