NIZHNY NOVGOROD, October 1. /TASS/. Russia’s automotive GAZ Group and Turkey’s Mersa Otomotiv on Tuesday announced the launch of production and sales of GAZelle Next vehicles in Turkey.

This is the first mass production of Russian light commercial vehicles of the Euro-5 emission standard outside Russia, the GAZ Group press service said.

The semi knocked down (SKD) assembly line is organized at an automotive plant in Turkey’s Sakarya some 150 kilometres from Istanbul. Key components and parts will be supplied from Russia.

According to GAZ Group the launch of the GAZelle Next vehicles sales was preceded by works to establish a dealer network and train Turkish specialists. By now, there are 24 dealer centres and 38 certified maintenance stations in seven Turkish provinces.

GAZ Group offers its Turkish clients a motor vehicle, which combines perfect functionality and high level of comfort with the lowest cost of ownership and the best price in its segment, according to GAZ Group President Vadim Sorokin.

GAZ Group, Russia’s biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, holds more than 50% of the segment of light commercial vehicles and about 65% of the buses segment.