Today the management of GAZ Group and MW SpA (Wheels Division of Italian Group CLN S.p.A) executed a MOU to establish a wheel disk manufacturing joint venture at Nizhny Novgorod. This is the third joint venture for production of autocomponents to be organized on Nizhny Novgorod site of GAZ Group: Bosal-GAZ JV, exhaust systems manufacturer, is already operating at GAZ; preproduction activities within the framework of cooperation with Bulten, the European manufacturer of fasteners, are in progress.
The MoU signed between GAZ OJSC and MW states the intention of the parties to establish a 50/50 joint venture for production of steel stamped wheel disks. The estimated start of production is planned for 2015 with an annual capacity of 2.5 million wheels per year. The potential customers of the future products include GAZ Group enterprises, global OEMs localized in Russia and aftermarket wheels.
The CLN Management has expressed satisfaction for this JV: «The cooperation with the biggest Russian manufacturer of vehicles and automotive components, offers a great opportunity to be successful in the Russian market thanks to the high level of competence in production of highly competitive components of GAZ OJSC».
The President\CEO of GAZ Group Bo Andersson: «Our joint production of wheels with MW is not just an upgrade of the wheel production at GAZ, but also new jobs and processes. GAZ Group has upgraded 75% of its vehicles for the last 3 years, launched production of new vehicle models, opened projects with the leading global automotive manufacturers, and we are developing production of automotive components. It will allow us to provide modern components for our products and also produce high volumes for the outside market. Quality of our products will be guaranteed by cooperation with such famous manufacturers as MW, the products of which are well known all over the world as one of the most reliable.
