TASHKENT, April 25. /TASS/. Avtovaz is in negotiations with three Chinese automakers to launch production of Lada-branded automobiles at their facilities, the company’s President Maxim Sokolov told reporters on the sidelines of the Innoprom international industrial exhibition on Tuesday.

"We are holding negotiations with several major Chinese partners. <…> We will put the Lada brand on all new models that we produce with our Chinese partners. That said, we are not going to masquerade it as a Chinese product, though considering Avtovaz’s possibilities, its engineering center with 3,500 employees, we will move towards this car’s localization in leaps and bounds," he said.

When asked whether Avtovaz plans to finalize the negotiations this year, Sokolov said: "Of course."

The issue is about the company’s facilities in Izhevsk, St. Petersburg, as well as one of the plants in Tolyatti, Lada West Tolyatti where Niva Chevrolet was produced earlier, the company’s president said. "Three facilities, three partners," he noted.