ULYANOVSK — Ulyanovsk Automotive Plant, which is part of Sollers Holding, restarted car assembly on Tuesday, which had been suspended since Feb. 1 as part of a corporate break, plant public relations director Alla Akimova said.
"This decision was out of necessity, for reasons independent of the management — disagreements about pricing with metal suppliers. We have put together an adjusted production schedule for this year and moved the planned two-week corporate break from April to February. At the same time, the enterprise's management attempted to follow all necessary formalities. Of course, people were paid for the entire break," Akimova said.
She added that the change in the production schedule would in no way reflect on UAZ's annual production plan and social obligations to its employees.
Severstal said Feb. 2 that it and Sollers had signed a partnership agreement valid through the end of the year that sets the base price and total supply of production from Cherepovets Iron & Steel Complex in accordance with the automaker's annual demand.
UAZ is Russia's biggest producer of off-road vehicles. The company produced 55,200 vehicles in 2010, up 68.6 percent from 2009.
UAZ's production plan for 2011 comes to 57,200 off-road vehicles, which is a 3.57 percent increase from 2010.
Sollers, formerly Severstal-Auto, manages the Ulyanovsk Automotive Plant, Zavolzhsky Motor Plant, Sollers-Naberezhniye Chelny, Sollers-Elabuga and Sollers-Far East. The company also has an engine manufacturing joint venture with Fiat Powertrain Technologies. Sollers produces UAZ, Fiat, Isuzu and SsangYong models in Russia.
KamAZ, Russia's largest truckmaker, advanced the most in almost a month after its controlling shareholder proposed combining the company with the Minsk Automobile Plant, according to RIA-Novosti.
KamAZ gained 7.2 percent to 86.93 rubles as of 2:54 p.m. in Moscow on Tuesday, its biggest intraday advance since Jan. 19. Russian Technologies sent a proposal to the Belarussian government about combining the two companies, RIA-Novosti reported, citing Sergei Chemezov, head of Russian Technologies and a KamAZ board member. (Bloomberg)
