French automaker PSA Group may start assembling Opel cars at its Russian plant located in Kaluga, the company stated on Tuesday, as it reintroduces the brand to the nation.
As part of a strategy to address its dependency on Europe, PSA stated before that it would also introduce its Peugeot brand in the U.S. and its Citroen brand in India.
The Opel brand was withdrawn from Russia by General Motors in 2015, which owned the brand in those times. It was due to the height of a crisis in the country’s car market because of a sharp depreciation in the rouble. PSA purchased the Opel and Vauxhall brands from GM in 2017.
PSA is thinking about the possibility of assembling Opel cars at its plant in Russia, a company spokesperson told Reuters, without providing dates, production volume or models.
“Local production is among the priorities and the main tool of a successful automotive business in Russia,” the representative stated.
“Taking this into account, we are considering the possibility of broadening the model range in Kaluga and do not rule out assembling Opel cars (there).”
PSA owns a 70 percent stake in the Kaluga plant, that has a total capacity of 125,000 cars annually, while Mitsubishi owns the rest of 30 percent.
In last year, the plant produced just 38,108 Peugeot, Citroen and Mitsubishi cars.
PSA released the Opel brand in Ukraine last year and, with its comeback to Russia, hopes to triple sales in the Eurasia area by 2021.
