Volvo Trucks inaugurates new production plant in Russia

Volvo Trucks inaugurates new production plant in Russia 

Today Volvo inaugurates its Russian production plant in Kaluga. This coincides
with the introduction of new, higher Russian custom duties for imported trucks.

Volvo Group is making long term strategic investments in Russia - both in the
service and retail network and in its industrial presence. Volvo Trucks
established so called CKD-production 6 years ago in Zelenograd outside Moscow.
With a capacity of 500 trucks a year, this plant is now under dimensioned for
the Russian truck demand which has increased significantly.

The new plant is situated in Kaluga 200 kilometres south west of Moscow. It will
produce trucks for Russia and neighbouring markets within the CIS-region, where
the new custom duty levels are introduced as of January 12th. Depending on type
of truck the custom duty is now between 5 and 25 percent.

The new factory has a capacity of 10,000 Volvo and 5,000 Renault trucks.
Production will start with low volumes in order to adjust and fine tune the
production process. Production volumes then gradually will be increased
according to market demand. The assembly line will be provided with cabs,
drivelines and gearboxes from Volvo's Swedish component factories.  
Volvo has 39 authorized workshops in Russia, including 2 fully owned Volvo Truck
Centers in St. Petersburg and Moscow. A third fully owned center will be opened
later this year in Kaluga. During January to November 2008, Volvo Trucks
delivered 5,466 trucks to Russian customers, compared to 3,904 trucks for the
same period 2007. About 5,000 used Volvo trucks where imported during the same
period. The Russian market is judged to have a long term growth potential. Due
to the global economic uncertainty the demand of trucks has slowed down. Today
the actual population of Volvo trucks in Russia exceeds 50,000 units.

2009-01-19
Reporters, who want more information, please contact:

Jenny Björsne, Volvo Trucks Corporate Communications, 
tel: +46 31 66 45 23, mail: jenny.bjorsne@volvo.com 

Stefan Karlsson, Volvo Trucks Corporate Communications, 
tel: +46 31 66 47 56, mail: stefan.karlsson@volvo.com

Volvo Trucks provides complete transport solutions for professional and
business-driven customers. The company offers a full range of medium to heavy
duty trucks, with a strong global network of 3,000 service points in more than
130 countries. In 2007 Volvo Trucks sold more than 100,000 trucks worldwide.
Volvo Trucks is a part of the Volvo Group, one of the world's leading
manufacturers of trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for
marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and services. The Group
also provides solutions for financing and service.