Japanese carmaker Toyota plans to open a new production facility and a bank in Russia later this year, DPA REPORTED. A spokesman for the Toyota KreditBank GmbH in Cologne said Russia had the potential to become one of the biggest automobile markets in Europe. He said the Russian central bank had already issued a licence for the new bank, a subsidiary of the German Toyota Kreditbank GmbH and Toyota Leasing. The new bank, called ZAO Toyota Bank, will begin operations in Moscow this autumn, with an expansion planned for St. Petersburg in 2008, the spokesman added. "Toyota is then first automobile company to set up its own bank in Russia," the spokesman said in Cologne, where Toyota Deutschland GmbH has its headquarters. "We anticipate that the internationally active financial institutions of other manufacturers will shortly begin operations in Russia," he said. The new production facility is expected start operations in Die December near St. Petersburg, where Nissan, Suzuki and General Motors are currently building their own plants. The spokesman said the facility was part of the company's strategy to strengthen Toyota's position in Russia, a market with enormous growth potential. In the first six months of 2007, the Japanese carmaker sold 72,330 Toyota and 6,950 Lexus cars in Russia, an increase of 70 per cent over the same period in 2006
