It is believed that GM will face competition from other carmakers also interested in acquiring a stake, including both Fiat and Renault.

Head of GM Russia Warren Browne said that AvtoVaz had indicated its interest in selling a percentage of the company to GM. GM is the largest foreign carmaker in Russia and the US firm already collaborates with AvtoVaz on the production of the Chevrolet Niva . GM is currently building a green-field plant in St Petersburg and assembles vehicles for its Chevrolet brand in the Baltic port of Kaliningrad. Russia's passenger car market is one of the most rapidly growing in the world, currently standing at 2 million units.