Daimler AG and Russian commercial vehicle manufacturer GAZ Group, a part of Russia's Basic Element, have planned to start the production Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in 2013 at Gorky Automobile Plant in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
Daimler is planning to invest about EUR100m, while GAZ will invest over €90m in the production and sales processes.
Mercedes-Benz Vans head Volker Mornhinweg said the partnership with GAZ will take the company a big step forward in the promising Russian van market.
"For Mercedes-Benz Vans, Russia is an important future market that offers us good growth opportunities," Mornhinweg said.
"That is why we want to produce our vans for Russia locally and cater to local customer preferences."
Both the parties are also planning to localise the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter T1N van, along with the engine and other components.
Mercedes-Benz engines will be produced at GAZ Group's Yaroslavl facility, which was built in 2011 to produce YaMZ-530 Euro-4 engines.
GAZ Group president and CEO Bo Andersson said the cooperation with Daimler will enable the company to upgrade the manufacturing capacities and processes of Gorky Automobile Plant.
"And we are already on the way: in May 2012 a contract was signed with Germany-based Eisenmann, the leading international supplier of systems for the automotive industry, to supply a new paintshop for more than €50 million Euro," Andersson said.
"The new technology will ensure full conformance with Daimler standards in the paint process at GAZ, and will also be used for the model range of Gorky Automobile Plant."
