As rumors swirl that struggling Detroit automakers will have to be bailed out by the government if they are to keep afloat, it comes as some irony that General Motors announced the opening of its St. Petersburg, Russia, factory earlier today. A feat that certainly would not have occurred as recently as the 1980s, the factory’s opening is of vital importance to General Motors – and, perhaps, United States-Russian relations.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev attended the opening ceremony held this afternoon just outside of St. Petersburg, where he commended GM’s economic cooperation with Russia.
“We are witnessing a project completed in spite of the financial problems which the world is facing today,” Medvedev said as he wrote “good luck” on the first Chevrolet Captiva to roll off the line.
The factory will build the Captiva and Opel Antara SUVs (essentially the same vehicle as the Saturn Vue sold in the U.S. and Canada), hot sellers in Russia despite dwindling SUV sales in North America and most of Europe.
In late 2009, the facility will build the Chevrolet Cruze, which won’t go on sale in the U.S. until 2010, the automaker announced in Detroit earlier today.
