According to Autonews, Wolf, who will also keep his position with the Canadian parts supplier, has some rough times ahead. GAZ nearly went under last year and took the intervention of the Russian government to settle the $1.3 billion debt GAZ ows to some 20 banks.
“We kept it kind of quiet,” Wolf was quoted as saying by the source. “We didn't make a public relations campaign out of it. The important thing is the results of GAZ. We have to make it profitable."
Last year, when Magna nearly became the new owner of German carmaker Opel, together with Russian bank Sberbank, the Russians tried to take advantage of Opel's know-how to save the almost dying local automotive industry.
The deal with Magna, GM and Opel stated that Sberbank would pay some 65 million euro for GM's plant in St. Petersburg, which would have passed over to Magna. In the near future, Sberbank would have given up its 35 percent stake in Opel to a so called "Russian strategic investor" – read Oleg Deripaska.
In the end of 2009, GM announced it is still planning to bring Opel in Russia with the help of Magna and GAZ.
GAZ sold only 11,140 vehicles in the first quarter of the year, a drop of 8 percent compared to last year. Nearly half of that volume was sold in March.
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