From Tyres & Accessories/Tire Review

Continental AG has confirmed news first reported last year on its intention to erect a new factory in Russia.

Alexander Lührs, head of media and press relations for the German manufacturer's Passenger & Light Truck Tires division, told Tyres & Accessories that approximately 200 million euros (approximately $285 million) will be invested in a Greenfield plant initially capable of producing four million passenger tires a year.

Production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2013, Lührs added.

Media reports late last year pinpointed the proposed factory site as being in the Ivanovo region, around 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow. Continental has yet to confirm the factory’s location; a decision will be made before the end of June, according to Lührs.

The tiremaker also has yet to announce the size of the new plant’s workforce, although using estimates based on previous Greenfield Continental passenger tire plants, it is thought the site will employ around 900 people when its first-stage production capacity is reached.