Information policy director Vladimir Samoilov did not specify a timeframe for the expansion plans, saying that "everything depends on our foreign partners."
Samoilov did not rule out similar projects in Latin America. He said Kamaz vehicles were currently being sold in large volumes to Venezuela and Colombia, and that sales had begun in Chile.
"If there are interesting proposals on assembly in South America, we are ready to consider these," he said.
Kamaz, based in the Volga Republic of Tatarstan, sold 32,300 trucks on the Russian market in 2006, or 35.7% more than in 2005, and 11,044 vehicles abroad, up 29.7% on the previous year. The company produces more than 30 models of trucks, as well as trailers, buses, tractors, and spare parts. It also manufactures engines, and power units.
The Kamaz official said assembly was organized in Pakistan last year, and an assembly plant was launched in Iran this year.
At the plant in the Islamic Republic, the company plans to "assemble 3,000 vehicles, with a potential up to 10,000," Samoilov said. "This is a very promising market where we are going to work intensively," he added.
Kamaz, founded in 1976, controls over a third of the Russian market. It has assembly plants in Poland, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Ukraine. Kamaz heavy-duty trucks have won the Paris-Dakar rally on several occasions. The State Property Committee holds a 34% stake in the enterprise.
