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Head of Renault's Romanian subsidiary appointed new CEO of Russian car giant

The decision will come into force on April 4, 2014 when Bo Inge Andersson is to relinquish duties

© Andrei Kholmov/TASS, archive

MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/. Nicolas Maure will become Chief Executive Officer of Russia’s flagship car manufacturer Avtovaz effective April 4, the company reported Tuesday.

The joint venture between Renault-Nissan and Rostec State Corporation (Rostec), which oversees Avtovaz, also confirmed that Bo Inge Andersson will step down from the role on April 4.

Currently, Maure is Managing Director for Renault Group operations in Romania, where he is in charge of all commercial and industrial activities. He also serves as President and CEO of Automobile Dacia SA, the report says.

Before taking over operations in Romania, Maure was Vice President for Renault global manufacturing performance and a Vice President for Powertrain in the Renault-Nissan Alliance Purchasing Organization. He has led teams in manufacturing, purchasing, quality and aftersales. He joined Renault in 2000 after working for automotive suppliers including Faurecia and Valeo.

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"The objective today is to create a highly competitive product, increase Lada’s market share in Russia, and to work deeply with Russian suppliers. In this regard, Avtovaz is a model of development for hundreds of companies across the country. We expect the new CEO to continue improvements and capably meet new challenges," Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov was quoted as saying. According to Chemezov, "in the past seven years, Avtovaz underwent major changes which significantly improved the quality of the vehicles, increased efficiency, and revitalized the model lineup."

Outgoing CEO Bo Andersson joined the company for a three-year term starting in 2013. He continued the strategic turnaround of Avtovaz, focusing on process modernization, new product launches and technology transfers.

"Avtovaz has modernized its lineup and manufacturing processes, and significantly improved product quality. With Nicolas Maure, we plan to continue on this strategy despite the short-term challenges, and we remain bullish about the long-term future of the Russian market and Avtovaz as the leading domestic automaker," Chairman of Avtovaz and Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, which has a majority stake in Alliance Rostec Auto BV, Carlos Ghosn was quoted as saying.

In 2015, Russia’s largest car maker reported 74 billion rubles ($1.05 bln) worth of loss amid rising expenses on new model launching, falling car market, declining purchasing power and the devaluation of the national currency. The company also marked negative cash flow and stated that without the support of shareholders it may not be able to pay its debt and continue operations.

Speaking to TASS Sergey Chemezov blamed Bo Andersson for the loss, saying that the manager failed to use the resources of Russian suppliers and chose for an easy solution instead, signing contracts with the suppliers of its partners - Renault and Nissan.

The Renault-Nissan alliance has a majority stake in Alliance Rostec Auto BV, a holding company that controls Avtovaz. Renault, Nissan and Avtovaz’s LADA brand build vehicles together in Togliatti and other plants throughout Russia.

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