Business news

MINSK, 13 June (BelTA) – General Motors Company and the Belarusian-British enterprise Unison signed a framework agreement on assembling General Motors cars using the manufacturing capacity of Unison in Belarus on 13 June, BelTA has learned.

The document was signed by President and Managing Director for Russia and the CIS of OOO General Motors CIS James Bovenzi and Director General of ZAO Unison Dmitry Yegorov. In line with the document Opel Corsa will be the first model, which assembly will begin in 2014. Opel Corsa is one of the popular General Motors models, which are sold in Russia, but which manufacturing has not been localized. There are also plans to make all the Opel Corsa modifications, which are available in Russia, including three and five-door models. The production of Opel Corsa OPC, however, will still be restricted to Western Europe.

Dmitry Yegorov said: “An important document of strategic importance for the development of our enterprise has been signed today. Apart from manufacturing Opel Corsa we are considering making a series of Chevrolet cars”. The Unison Director General said that they plan to make 4,000-7,000 cars per annum. The company has vowed to focus on offering a competitive car that will be interesting to consumers.

Asked about the expected prices for Belarus-made General Motors cars, James Bovenzi remarked it was still too early to talk about pricing. “The price will be determined closer to the availability of the first cars, somewhere in March 2014. These cars will be sold in Belarus and in countries of the Customs Union. Our company believes in manufacturing products where we sell them. We practice this approach all over the world. Opel Corsa is imported to Russia and Belarus, therefore, we have decided it is time to localize this car,” said the President and Managing Director for Russia and the CIS of OOO General Motors CIS.

In line with the document that was signed on 13 June Unison will buy, install, and tune the equipment needed to start assembling the new model with direct involvement of General Motors specialists. Unison specialists will also be taught manufacturing and quality control guidelines used by General Motors factories across the globe.

Vice Prime Minister of Belarus Piotr Prokopovich took part in the meeting of the representatives of the two companies. The official remarked that the Belarus government welcomes the decision of the international company General Motors to start working in Belarus. “Belarus specializes in manufacturing mechanical engineering products, but the arrival of General Motors in the Belarusian market will start a new page in our country’s automobile engineering,” believes Piotr Prokopovich.

General Motors Company and partners make automobiles in 30 countries. General Motors owns such brands as Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall, and Wuling. In Russia the company has been represented by the brands Chevrolet, Opel, and Cadillac since 1992.

The joint venture ZAO Unison is located in the village of Obchak 10km away from Minsk. The company was founded as a Belarusian-British joint venture Ford Union in 1996. In 2000 it was converted into ZAO Unison. The company has assembled a series of automobile brands, including Ford, KIA, and Samand for over 15 years.