By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The Peugeot Citroen-Mitsubishi alliance officially launched automobile production in Russia Friday.
The facility in Kaluga region, which has an annual capacity of 125,000 cars, has been working under a test regime since the beginning of March and the first car, a Peugeot 308, was produced March 9.
The plant will make mid-sized cars for the Russian market. Total investment in the project is about 470 million euro ($705 million), officials said.
Russian consumers, however, would not see lower prices for the locally-produced cars, Takashi Nishioka, chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, said Friday.
“We are not planning to reduce the prices thanks to the local production sites,” he said.
“This operation will be a cornerstone in our efforts to grow our Russian business in the mid- and long-term and we hope that we can contribute to the development of Russia’s automobile industry,” he said.