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Petersburg interested in automobile cluster, investors - governor

Poltavchenko said the automobile industries that began to be created in the early 2000s proved effective

ST. PETERSBURG, August 18 (Itar-Tass) —— St. Petersburg is interested in the development of the automobile cluster and in attracting more large firms for opening operations in the city, Governor Georgy Poltavchenko said on Friday after visiting the Toyota and General Motors plants.

Poltavchenko said the automobile industries that began to be created in the early 2000s proved effective.

“It is absolutely logical to raise the question of considerably expanding localization at the city’s automobile production facilities,” he believes.

Poltavchenko held talks with the management of automotive enterprises. Localization was one of the main issues discussed. Poltavchenko said he was quite satisfied with Toyota and GM plans for considerably increasing the share of locally manufactured parts and components. Toyota plans to increase this rate from 15 percent to 30 percent by 2014, and General Motors by 2018 hopes to achieve a localization rate of 60 percent in Russia. At the St. Petersburg plant the rate is to go up to 50 percent.

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