With all of the talk of global expansion, General Motors is celebrating the opening of its first plant in Russia. The plant, which is located in St. Petersburg, opened November 11, 2008, with the St. Petersburg governor and Carl Peter Forster, the president of General Motors Europe, there for the occasion.
The Russian-made Chevrolet/General Motors plant has been in the works for quite some time and will represent a big boost in the European markets for the company. The plant is worth $300 million U.S. and is known as a “flexible assembly plant” in many circles because of its ability to construct a wide variety of vehicles with efficiency and speed.
The plant has 70,000 units of capacity, which is an impressive sum for the region and will help boost European production from Chevrolet/General Motors considerably. Other joint ventures and partnerships are said to be expected in the region, with the possibility of more Russian plants right around the corner.
While the American political world may not be friendly with Russia at this point and time, there is certainly nothing stopping Chevrolet/General Motors from opening the doors of commerce and exposing themselves to new markets ripe with potential. Business is business and these companies know how to play by the rules in order to benefit from economic situations.
Production of Chevy cars and trucks at plants like these help boost the international profile and, in turn, help local economies and dealers. Everybody wins.
