"The company, unfortunately, disadvantages itself amid the period when the market starts its activation phase. Anyway everything develops in a sinusoidal manner and growth will come after sales drop. We can say it for sure now. Then the company will find itself among the losers," Peskov said.
On Wednesday, GM announced an amended business model in Russia, removing Opel completely and minimizing the presence of its Chevrolet brands. Additionally, the Detroit-based company said it will halt operations in its St. Petersburg plant by mid-2015.
"We can feel sorry about it, but on the other hand, there is never a vacuum on the market, when one company leaves, another one will immediately take its place,” he added.
The Russian economy was hit by falling oil prices and last year's Western sanctions against Russia. In 2014, the ruble lost almost half of its value against the dollar.
According to GM President Dan Ammann, the decision to cut down its low-cost products in Russia was made to avoid "significant investment into a market that has very challenging long-term prospects."
GM added it expected to incur a $600-million loss in first quarter results over the scaling back of production in Russia.
However, the US automakers' announcement will not affect its joint venture with AvtoVAZ, the Russian company press service said Wednesday.
