AVTOVAZ car factory marks 45th jubilee Wednesday.

SAMARA, July 20 (Itar-Tass) - The AVTOVAZ car factory, a major
automaker of Russia, marks its 45th jubilee on Wednesday. July 20, 1966,
is reckoned the date of the emergence of the Volga car factory on the
strength of a decision by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union and the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On the
Construction of a Factgory for the Manufacture of Automobiles in the city
of Togliatti". The city was chosen as a site for the car factory after a
thorough analysis from among 54 proposed construction sites.
Nowadays, AVTOVAZ is one of the lagest automakers of Europe. The
production facilities of the enterprise make it possible to turn out about
one million automobiles and car components a year. Since 1970, the plant
has made more than 26 million cars. AVTOVAZ share on Russia's car market
is over 25 percent.
In the first half of this year, Lada car sales in Russia grew by more
than 30 percent as compared with the corresponding period of last year
while the net profit of AVTOVAZ in the first half of 2011 may amount to
2,000 million roubles.
The plant's immediate plans include the launching of the serial
manufacture of a new popular car, the Lada Granta, a general-purpose
vehicle of enhanced capacity on the Lada Largus platform, and other car
models.
Sergei Chemezov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AVTOVAZ, when
addressing the shareholders in a speech this past June, said the plant
currently "has available all resources for the creation of a new AVTOVAZ
-- a modern, high-powered, and technologically developed enterprise with
highly qualified personnel".
In Togliatti on Wednesday, festive concerts are to be given; a
ceremony will be held to present awards to the best workers of the
factory, and a new exhibition on the theme of "AVTOVAZ: Development
Chronology" will open in the factory's museum.
The programme of festive events is intended for several days.The
festivities will be are expected to be crowned with the arrival of first
Russian Formula One pilot Vitaly Petrov who is to meet with the factory
personnel and enthusiasts of Formula One racing.