MOSCOW, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Renault RENA.PA said on Friday it had backed a management reshuffle at AvtoVAZ AVAZ.MM that is expected to bring the leadership of the Russian car maker closer to state conglomerate Russian Technologies.
On Friday, the AvtoVAZ board voted to replace President Boris Alyoshin with his first deputy, Igor Komarov, an adviser to the head of Russian Technologies. France’s Renault and state-owned Russian Technologies each own 25 percent of AvtoVAZ.
“We supported Komarov’s candidacy, since it was Renault that recommended him for the post of executive vice president,” Renault spokeswoman Oksana Nazarova said.
Alyoshin's departure comes as the Russian government pursues a new strategy for the automotive sector. It has decided to pool large stakes in several major automotive firms including AvtoVAZ and KamAZ KMAZ.MM into a holding company that will operate under the umbrella of Russian Technologies. [ID:nLP294147]
Analysts have said that the stake in Opel that Russia's Sberbank SBER03.MM is seeking to acquire from General Motors [GM.UL] may also be included in the new automotive holding.
Sberbank is the financier of the bid for control of Germany's Opel put forward by Canadian auto parts maker Magna's MGa.TO. (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Simon Shuster)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.