US automakers bet billions on Russian car boom_美文

US automakers bet billions on Russian car boom

To generate buzz in Russia, GM invited Henry Kissinger to their plant expansion ceremony last June in St. Petersburg.

With car sales up 14 percent in Russia so far this year, dealers are struggling to meet demand.

At a brand new Chrysler dealership on Moscow’s beltway, John Stech, Chrysler Russia CEO, talks about the demand.

“We've brought completely refreshed vehicles, all new vehicles, onto the Russian market,” he said, while visiting the dealership for the first time. “And they really resonate with the Russian customers. For a while we couldn't get enough. Now we have a better supply, and we see this really in the activity in our dealers."

And there is room for growth. There is about one car for every four Russians - about half the average for Western Europe and the United States.

Chris Weafer, strategist for Troika Dialog, says Russian consumers have money in their pockets.

"It is one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world,” he says. “And that’s coming on the back of very strong disposable income growth - about $8,000 this year, rising to a projected $12,000 in about 4 or 5 years time. So people have more money to spend on consumer goods."

Bernard Sucher, a long-term American investor and sometime Russia critic, comes from Detroit, home of the Big Three American manufacturers. The Motor City native is impressed by what is happening in Russia.