The company said the first sales offers would be presented at the Interavto-2007 car salon, to be held in Moscow between August 29 and September 4. The new Maxus modifications, including minivans for 12, 15 and 17 passengers, platform trucks and dump trucks will be offered to potential customers at the exhibition.
GAZ acquired a 100% stake in LDV, a British van manufacturer, in July 2006. The shares were bought from Sun Capital, a U.S. fund. LDV, formerly Leyland DAF Vans Limited, produces about 15,000 vehicles a year.
GAZ plans to start production of Maxus trucks in Nizhny Novgorod, in Russia's Volga Region, in 2008, building up to 20,000 trucks initially.
GAZ Group was established in 2005 after RusPromAvto restructured its production assets. Based in Nizhny Novgorod, GAZ supplies vehicles to 29 countries in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
Altogether, GAZ produces about 200,000 vehicles a year.