Putin buys Russian car to save home industry from decline

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin decided to personally support the Russian automobile production, Interfax reports. Putin told reporters that he had recently purchased a Niva vehicle of Russia’s AvtoVAZ giant.

Photo: Putin buys Russian car to save home industry from decline

When asked which Russian car he would like to own, Putin said that it would be Niva. “I have already bought it. I am working on the papers right now,” he said.

Putin is currently on a visit to the city of Togliatti, the center of the Russian automobile industry. He held a meeting with the workers of AvtoVAZ and promised them that the government would take serious measures to support the home car industry. “We have decided to assign 700 million rubles to maintain the jobs in the industry. About 300 million more have been assigned for the development of small and medium businesses,” Putin said during the meeting at AvtoVAZ.

The Russian government is currently considering an opportunity to give over 20 billion rubles to AvtoVAZ, Russia’s major car maker. The final decision on the matter will be made on March 30. AvtoVAZ asked for 26 billion rubles of bailout, Itar-Tass reports.

Putin said that the financial support of AvtoVAZ would let the company attract other credit resources in the amount of 90 billion rubles. The prime minister added that the enterprise would need first to solve all problems with its 40-billion-ruble debt.

Putin believes that the reduction of the ruble rate against the dollar would let the company make competitive products. “It considerably increases your competitive ability. The consequences of that can be preserved during the coming two or three years. The enterprise must use the situation during this period to achieve a new level of production,” he said.