Russia: Chrysler's Loss Is Ford's Gain

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Fiat’s plans to build up to 500,000 Chryslers and Jeeps in Russia collapsed last week. Chrysler’s cross-town rival Ford may have had something to do with that. On Friday, Ford and Russia’s Sollers “signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which the parties intend to launch a new 50:50-owned joint venture called Ford Sollers for the production and distribution of Ford vehicles in Russia,” says a Sollers communiqué. Sollers also had been in talks with Fiat, which ended fruitless. The end of the Fiat talks were announced on the same day the deal with Ford was revealed.

The joint venture will include Ford and Sollers local production facilities in Vsevolozhsk (St. Petersburg region) and in the Republic of Tatarstan, where a range of Ford passenger cars and light commercial vehicles will be produced.

Ford has been in Russia since 2002, but needs a boost. GM “sold nearly three times as many cars in the country last month,” says the Wall Street Journal.

Sollers is the second-largest producer of passenger and light-commercial vehicles in Russia, with sales of 98,000 vehicles in 2010.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Twotone Twotone on Feb 20, 2011

    Hope they are better than the Lada 06 I drove for the five years I lived in Moscow. A one year old Lada was worth as much as a new one since the owner had a year to fix all the problems when it left the factory. Russian girls, on the other hand, were well worth it.

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    • Bryce Chessum Bryce Chessum on Feb 20, 2011

      Lada2106 is a FIAT no wonder they went with FORD once bitten twice shy

  • Avtopromenade Avtopromenade on Feb 20, 2011

    We don't need Ford, we just need more wholesome All-American girls here in Moscow. I likes them more than the local variety.

  • JimothyLite JimothyLite on Feb 20, 2011

    She looks nothing like the bride UPS delivered last week. Drat that Photoshop.

  • Skor Skor on Feb 20, 2011

    In Russia car drives you!

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