Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov's Onexim Group has received Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's backing to begin production of a budget car, government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
"Prokhorov has discussed the project to launch production of a low-budget city car using a fundamentally new design and cutting-edge technology," Dmitry Peskov said, Interfax reported. "Prokhorov met Putin on Tuesday and told him about plans to develop his companies. Putin expressed hope that the project would be quickly approved in the relevant ministries and government agencies," Peskov said.
Onexim spokesman Igor Petrov said the company "is not ready to give any details yet." The group currently has assets in mining, aluminum and gold production, power generation, insurance, media and banking.
In 2008, Onexim said it would partner with the city government of Megion, in the Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district, to create Megion Hydrogen Partnership, a company that would introduce a fleet of hydrogen cars and hydrogen fueling stations in the city.
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