Operations started at the JV plant as an assembly operation in October 2012.
Mazda Motor and OJSC Sollers today said that they have agreed with the Government of the Russian Federation to assess the establishment of an engine plant at their joint venture Mazda Sollers Manufacturing. The existing plant is in Vladivostok, the Primorsky region of Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District. Mazda makes two models there, the CX5 and the Mazda6, known as Atenza in Japan.
At a ceremony attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Russia Chikahito Harada, Mazda’s Representative Director, President and CEO Masamichi Kogai, Sollers’ CEO Vadim Shvetsov and First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Gleb Nikitin signed a memorandum of understanding at a ceremony held in Vladivostok today. President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin specially congratulated participants of signing ceremony.
“Since operations started in October 2012, MSMR has produced around 80,000 Mazda cars which have gone out to people all over the country,” said Mazda’s Representative Director, President and CEO Masamichi Kogai upon signing.
Sollers is a leading Russian automotive company that works in partnership with Ford, SsangYong, Toyota, Mazda and Isuzu. Its annual turnover has been as high as 47.9 billion rubles.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
