Russia’s car market is on track to emerge as the largest in Europe by 2020, with a number of international names announcing investments in the country.

In February, the Russian government imposed a hike in duties for any producer that did not pledge to increase vehicle production to 300,000 units and increase the proportion of domestic-made inputs to 60% by 2020.

This has caused a spike in FDI, as recorded by greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets, which showed Q1 2011 automotive investments in Russia more than double from seven projects to 15. Notable investments included Italy-based Fiat planning to invest €1.6bn to establish a plant in the country with a view to increasing capacity.