Russian President Vladimir Putin noted at the meeting with Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess on Friday the car manufacturer's successful work in Russia and assured the car maker's head that Russian authorities would continue to support its activities in the country
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin noted at the meeting with Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess on Friday the car manufacturer's successful work in Russia and assured the car maker's head that Russian authorities would continue to support its activities in the country."Dear Mr. Diess, colleagues, I am very pleased to see you in Moscow. We have met within the framework of a general meeting with representatives of German business. Volkswagen has been working [in Russia] for a long time, [its] cars are very popular in Russia: 12 percent of [the total amount of] sales is a very solid performance," Putin said at the beginning of the meeting.
Putin also recalled that the company had manufactured 200,000 cars in Russia in 2018 and praised Volkswagen's investment in the country's economy.
"Almost 2 billion of investment is a great contribution. We are grateful to you for this work. As far as I remember you have produced 200,000 vehicles in Russia last year, around 20,000 [cars] got exported from [Russia]. This is a very good performance," Putin said.
Diess, in turn, announced the company's plans to sign a special investment contract with Russia and asked for Putin's advice.
"I am here to discuss with you two issues and, perhaps, to ask you for advice or assistance ... The first issue concerns our next phase of investment in Russia. We plan to sign a special investment contract in the near future. I would like to make a few comments in this regard and ask for your advice. The second issue concerns our plants in Nizhny Novgorod, these are very good plants, here we also need your assistance," Diess said.
Putin specified that seven special investment contracts in the automotive industry had already been signed and expressed readiness to sign another one, citing Volkswagen's plans to increase localization of its production in the country.
In late 2018, Marcus Osegowitsch, the general director of Volkswagen Group Rus, said that the automobile concern planned to invest additional 500 million Euros ($565 million) in Russia, in addition to earlier invested 1.8 billion euros.
Volkswagen AG is home to several famous brands, including Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat; Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti in luxury segment; and Scania focused on trucks.
