The benefits for Russia of buying into Opel
Published: 11 September, 2009, 18:17
Edited: 15 September, 2009, 03:30
By the end of the year, the Russo-Canadian joint venture will reach a deal to take a stake in Opel. But what does the Russian side gain?










Moskvic 412 was very rusty car. Its hydraulics for breaking was also very bad with the interior of cylinders having not really a circular shape, but rather sort of ellipsoidal. The machine was perhaps the most reliable part, but nonetheless of an old technology. Maintaining a steady direction has not been a trivial goal to achieve. Hope that Russians will never ever make cars that bad as were those of the Moskvich family. Only Zaporozec was more rusty than Moskvich. I am suspicious that buying Opel will help Russians to succeed in making better cars in a long term. The point is in having their own R&D in a long run, not just buying new technology from time to time. What benefits were gained from buying FIAT 124 some 30 years ago and making LADA 1200? All LADAs were almost equally rusty as Moskvichs.