Models and cars will both be on hand at the motor show. (TRJ)
Posted on 08/28/2003 7:05:54 AM PDT by RussianConservative
Models and cars will both be on hand at the motor show. (TRJ)
DETROIT - General Motors Corp. will sell the Hummer H2 sport utility vehicle in Russia under a three-year agreement with Russian automaker Avtotor.
The companies announced the deal Wednesday during the Moscow International Motor Show, Detroit-based GM spokesman Pete Ternes said.
Hummers are produced in Mishawaka, Indiana, in a partnership between GM and AM General Corp. GM is to ship 500 H2s to Russia during the next three years, Ternes said.
The vehicles will be fully assembled in Mishawaka, then partially disassembled and shipped to Russia in "kit form," he said. They will be reassembled at an Avtotor plant in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave alongside the Baltic Sea.
"There's been some excitement created over this vehicle and it's a way to show some exciting, new products in Russia," Ternes said.
GM has similarly marketed other vehicles in European countries such as Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom. In a joint venture with Russian automaker AvtoVAZ, GM manufactures the off-road Chevrolet Niva in the Volga region of Russia, Ternes said.
The H2 sells for about $50,000 in the United States. Ternes did not know how much it will sell for in Russia but he said it should be on the market there sometime during the fourth quarter.
As for who will buy them, he simply said, "people who have enough money to afford a Hummer."
Well that pretty much leaves out the 'middle class' and the poor, and the RF government types won't be seen driving in a Western car. Who does that leave? Oligarchs and entrepreneurs 'na leva'?
Ok, I'll take a Hummer.
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