Kaliningrad American

April 5, 2006 General Motors and Russia's car assembly plant Avtotor, located in Kaliningrad, marked the beginning of the official assembly of HUMMER H3 and started selling this car in Russia. At the opening ceremony in addition to the huge number of journalists who flew to the ceremony in Moscow attended by: Robert Lutz, vice president of General Motors, Vladimir Shcherbakov, president of Avtotor, Felix Lapin, Economy Minister of the Kaliningrad region, John Costin, executive director of the department international trade of GM, Jacek Gorski, commercial director of «GM CIS, Stefan Gerriti, director of international operations - HUMMER, and Warren Brown, director of General Motors in Russia and CIS. Issue of HUMMER H3 in Russia's auto assembly plant Avtotor - this is not the first project implemented by GM in Russia. In June 2004, Kaliningrad has started assembly of HUMMER H2; currently at the plant are collected and Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Cadillac CTS, Cadillac SRX, and Cadillac STS Sedan. "We at GM believe Russia - one of the fastest growing and important markets in the world." - Said Robert Lutz, vice president of GM, «Indeed, we have witnessed how much the past two years has increased the Russian car market and interest customers for different types of cars. HUMMER H3 accurately reflects our strategy to expand the model range offered to meet the rapidly growing market demand. We are convinced that the start of production of the model HUMMER H3 at Avtotor will push us to a completely competitive position. " "Home production model HUMMER H3 in Kaliningrad imposes on us a new commitment to the further development of our manufacturing base and build quality" - added Vladimir Shcherbakov, president of Avtotor, "Model HUMMER H3 will expand a representative range of all-wheel drive SUV - Cadillac and Chevrolet. I am pleased to note that, as our experience shows that the build quality and craftsmanship of our employees meet the high standards set by General Motors. We sincerely look forward to continued fruitful cooperation in the future. " What is this animal? Model of H3 will be offered with four options set. The starting price for the base version HUMMER H3 with MKP is $ 49,990, in the second level, combined with AKP - $ 53,990. In the third level, a complete set - Adventure ACF designed for off-road enthusiasts, the price will be $ 60,600. In the fourth trim level - Luxury - with lots of options price is $ 65,500. On all versions of HUMMER H3 vehicles established 220-strong 3,5-liter V5 and two types of gearboxes - manual in the base case and automatic as an option. The vehicles will be sold and serviced by six authorized dealers HUMMER, operating in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. And this is only the beginning Besides the start of production HUMMER H3, General Motors and Avtotor to announce the release of Kaliningrad a pilot lot of four models of Chevrolet. They were the model Aveo, Lacetti, Rezzo and Evanda, which should be released in full by the end of spring this year. The vehicles will be sold exclusively in the territory of Russia. During 2006, planned to reach production volume of 15000 vehicles. Such a decision General Motors has taken in connection with a good level of sales of brand in Russia. Last year, Chevrolet finished second in the list of best-selling automotive brands, having realized a total of 66 500 units. And already this year sales increased by 10% compared with the I quarter of 2005. The company representatives are confident that began assembling Chevrolet in Russia, the company's position in the local market will be significantly strengthened. As for price point, the cost of a sedan Chevrolet Aveo, collected at Avtotor will start at $ 11,150 and will be offered with three types of engines: 1.2 liters (72 hp), 1.4 liters (83 hp . only with body hatchback) and 1,4 liters / 16 valves (94 hp) with MKP / AKP. Lacetti will be equipped with engines 1.4 liters (93 hp), 1.6-liter INC / AKP (109 hp) and 1.8 liters INC / ACT (122 hp). Model Chevrolet Rezzo receive only one 1.6-liter 90-strong powertrain, as well as Evanda, which has under the hood will hide a 2,0-liter 131-hp engine with a dual manual gearbox or with the automatic transmission. Why Avtotor? Assembly plant Avtotor was established in December 1994 to implement a major investment project to build in Kaliningrad auto production based on conversion of military enterprises. It is from April 1, 2006 came into force and began to operate the Federal Law of January 10, 2006 № 16-FZ "On Special Economic Zone in Kaliningrad Region and on amendments to some legislative acts of the Russian Federation", in particular, establishes a special procedure for payment corporate profits tax and property tax residents. Thanks to this law Avtotor able to produce products by 10-20% cheaper than it would in other regions of Russia. General Motors decision to use the opportunity Avtotor to implement strategies to promote their models to the promising Russian market was quite natural. Rumors about opening its own factory in Russia General Motors vice president, Robert Lutz has denied, saying that this can not now be considered. Well, HUMMER H3 car is not new and already about half a year comes to Russia "gray" dealers. Launch of the Russian assembly of a truly American car, according to company president Avtotor should eradicate such dealers. And indeed, the SUV, drove them from overseas, you no one will ever give guarantees, especially as the cars assembled at Avtotor more adapted to Russian conditions of operation and have a frost-resistant fluids, batteries, energy efficient, etc. The popularity of the HUMMER H3 in Russia say the best data of its sales, which will be known later. Technical Specifications (according to the manufacturer) HUMMER H3 Body Type SUV Doors 4 Seats 5 Dimensions Length (mm) 4740 Width (mm) 1896 Height (mm) 1,893 Wheelbase (mm) 2842 Storage Capacity Minimum (l) 835.3 Storage Capacity Max (l) 1577 Fuel tank capacity (l) 87 Engine Displacement (cm3) 3460 Engine type in-line, 5-cylinder, gasoline engine Maximum power (hp / rpm) 220 at 5600 Maximum power (kW at rpm) 162 at 5600 Maximum torque (Nm / rpm) 305 at 2800 Transmission Type-wheel-drive type transmission 4-speed automatic Hydra-Matic Suspension Front Independent SLA torsion bar suspension with short and long wishbones, single-tube gas-filled shock absorbers and stabilizer bar Rear Suspension Design "Hotchkiss" leaf springs with variable stiffness, single-tube gas pressure shock absorbers and stabilizer bar Brakes Front Ventilated discs Rear Disc Wheels and Tyres Standard Package 16-inch 265/75 R16 Weight Curb weight (kg) in 2654 permitted a full Weight (kg) 3175.6 Dynamic Characteristics Maximum speed (km / h) 180 Acceleration 0-100 km / h (c) 10.0 Fuel consumption (l/100 km) Combined Cycle Country Cycle 9.1 Urban cycle 11.2 Package Base Price (U.S. $): 53990