RIA Novosti reported that the Italy fiat affiliated company Iveco had delayed the opening of a factory in Russia's Volga Region to produce light commercial vehicles from the Q1 of 2009 until the end of next year.
Iveco and the Russian industrial group Samotlor NN started building the plant, designed to produce Iveco Daily light trucks, in the Nizhny Novgorod Region in November 2007. The joint venture, in which Iveco holds a 51%, stake, was expected to start producing 3,500 vehicles a year from early 2009 and reach a projected capacity of 25,000 vehicles by 2010.

Mr Umberto Scotti, the project manager0f Iyeco said that its company like all international businesses, was feeling the effects of the global financial crisis and was suffering from insufficient liquidity and overproduction. He said that the company had already invested 30% out of the planned EUR 50 billion in the project.

Mr Paolo Monferrino CEO of Iveco earlier said that the facility would employ 2,500 people and would assemble cars from Italian auto sets while the plant was being built.