Sojitz Corporation, Isuzu Motors Ltd., and OJSC Severstal-Auto(SSA)have agreed to set up a joint venture Closed Joint Stock Company SEVERSTALAUTO-ISUZU to manufacture and sell Isuzu trucks in Russia. The three companies signed a contract on July 30 in Moscow.

Since July 2006, Isuzu Motors has shipped semi-knocked down (SKD) kits for its ELF light-duty trucks to SSA, which assembled and sold them through its subsidiary OAO Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod. Sojitz supplies these SKD kits. Truck sales volume has increased steadily and ongoing growth is expected. After reviewing the business structure, the companies decided to set up the new joint venture to support additional sales.

CJSC SEVERSTALAUTO-ISUZU is located in Yelabuga, Republic of Tatarstan, with Vasily Boitsov as the representative. Paid-in capital is 350 million rubles (approximately 1.6 billion yen), with 5% from Sojitz, 29% from Isuzu, and 66% from SSA. The new company will handle imports of SKD kits from Japan, SKD assembly, and sales of trucks to dealers in Russia. It will begin full-fledged sales activities with the start of production at the Yelabuga plant in June 2008.

The new joint venture has a production and sales target of 5,000 units a year for the time being, with volume expected to top 30,000 units as Russia's demand for trucks increases in the future.

Profile of the New Company

Company name	Closed Joint Stock Company(ZAO) SEVERSTALAUTO-ISUZU
Location	Yelabuga, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia
Establish	August, 2007
Representative	Vasily Boitsov
Paid-in capital	350 million rubles (Approx. 1.6 billion yen)
Ownership	SSA 66%, Isuzu 29%, Sojitz 5%
Main business	Import, manufacture (assembly of SKD kits), and sales of commercial vehicles