November 12, 2007 -- Magna International Inc.plans to build a vehicle assembly plant in Russia to build cars for Chrysler LLC, Russian newspaper Kommersant said Monday.

The factory could build as many as 150,000 vehicles a year, the report said, which would expand Magna's assembly capability beyond a single plant in Graz, Austria, and give Chrysler its first major foothold in Russia, which is expected to be one of strongest vehicle markets for the rest of this decade and beyond.

“This is a 100 per cent Magna project,” said Alexander Filatov, director of strategy and business development for Russian Machines, the auto making arm of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who holds a 42 per cent stake in a holding company that controls Magna. Russian Machines controls OAO GAZ, a Russian vehicle manufacturer.

“There is a potential role for Russian Machines and GAZ,” Mr. Filatov told reporters in Moscow on Monday.

Chrysler has pulled assembly of some vehicles out of the Canadian auto parts giant's Magna Steyr assembly plant in Austria and shifted production of them back to North America amid the slump in the U.S. dollar against the euro.

Neither Magna nor Chrysler officials could not be reached for comment immediately.

Source: The Globe and Mail (Breaking News)