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![]() Germany's Daimler began construction of a new Mercedes-Benz plant near Moscow on Tuesday, following through on the first new investment by a major foreign automaker in Russia since Western sanctions were entered three years ago. ![]() 21.Jun.17 11:58 PM By Daria Zaytseva Photo Toinnov.com |
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In February, Daimler said that the plant will be invested over €250 million, which contrasts with the widespread wariness among international investors after the long recession caused by sanctions and the collapse of world oil prices. But the Russian economy has recently shown signs of recovery, and its car market returns to growth after four years of decline. The Governor of the Moscow region Andrey Vorobiev said that President Vladimir Putin personally signed the deal, allowing the regional government to offer unspecified conditions, previously not available to foreign investors. Global automakers had considered Russia as a promising growth market until the 2014 sanctions against Moscow's actions in Ukraine and the economic slowdown has forced the companies to suspend the projects. Car sales rose by more than half from the peak of 2012, almost 3 million per year. Although sales of Mercedes cars in Russia last year fell by 11% to 36,888, Schaefer said he expects that numbers to show an increase in 2017 and continue growing after the new plant opens in 2019. The company's Russian car sales in May increased by 8% year on year. The plant will employ more than 1,000 people working across a 85-hectare area to produce more than 20,000 Mercedes-Benz cars and SUVs a year. |