Chrysler Group plans to strengthen its presence in Russian car sales and production, a top executive said in the advance abstract of an interview with Automotive News Europe.

“If you look at our worldwide presence, then Russia is a key market for us,” said Michael Manley, executive vice president of international sales and marketing for Chrysler in the report which was circulated in Germany on Saturday.

Chrysler was currently talking about possible partnerships with Russian companies, the report said.

The U.S. car company is looking for worldwide business opportunities, having been put up for sale by its parent DaimlerChrysler after an unsuccessful nine-year partnership.

Manley said he expected Chrysler’s international sales could double to 400,000 vehicles by 2012.

Chrysler said it doubled its Russian car sales to 4,021 in 2006 compared with 2005 and had seen early 2007 sales up by 93 percent year-on-year.

Popularity: 2% [?]