The Prime Minister, who came to the plant in a Volkswagen, visited the welding and assembly shops and inspected the finished products, specifically the Volkswagen Tiguan, Volkswagen Caddy, Skoda Octavia and Audi A6. 

Afterwards, the company's manager showed him a model of the plant near Kaluga, which rolls out 31 cars per hour.

A representative of Volkswagen said that the company was one of the sponsors of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. "This means that together, we will win the Games in Sochi," Mr Putin said in German.

During the tour of the plant, the Prime Minister was told that the average monthly wage at the plant is 20,300 roubles. The plant employs 1,800 people but will have 3,000 workers when it reaches the designed capacity of 150,000 cars annually.

Mr Putin's address at the ceremony of commissioning the plant:

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, friends.

This is a pleasant and ceremonious occasion, but it was preceded by three years of hard work. I mean, only three years.

We held the groundbreaking ceremony in September 2006, and today we are inaugurating full-capacity production at the plant. This is fast, and the quality is superb.

When we visited the plant's shops today, they could have been a modern industrial museum except for its cutting-edge technology. It is not only nice to look at, but it was also designed to ensure high quality output and comfortable working conditions for the personnel.

It is always pleasant when your efforts, hard work and initiative produce a positive and palpable result. I believe that the people working here, the residents of Kaluga and their German partners from Volkswagen can be proud of this project.

This example in the Kaluga Region shows convincingly that you can start from scratch and create a new industrial centre using modern technology while creating highly paid jobs.

This ceremony is also proof of the investors' trust. I am confident that they will not lose, because the Russian car market has a bright future, especially when the crisis ends. I am confident that post-crisis growth will be considerable, and there are objective data showing that the Russian car market is the largest in Europe.

Several years ago we decided to launch large-scale cooperation with our foreign partners in the auto industry. And today the bulk of the world's leading automakers have plants here, which we regard as an inalienable part of the Russian automotive industry. Specifically, the anti-crisis measures currently being implemented in Russia include these plants.

We will provide all-round assistance to the traditional automakers. They have a large part to play in the Russian economy, as they ensure employment in dozens of cities and entire regions, and I am confident that they can deal with the current problems, modernise production, and roll out competitive products and cars that will be in demand.

Kaluga is a good example of our cooperation with investors. Volkswagen is working here, and has a possibility of expanding its activities. Magna will produce auto components nearby. Other automakers are working in the other part of the city, in its southern suburbs.

The regional government is doing its best to see that investors feel comfortable here. I remember the Governor speaking at a meeting held to discuss the details [of automobile production]; he stood up for Volvo, which also has a plant here, as if it were a wholly Russian plant.

I can tell you that it was pleasant because it indicates our governors' mature vision of events in the global economy and of the importance of cooperation with our foreign partners. This attitude is producing practical results.

I would like to congratulate all of you again. I wish you a smooth road to success. Thank you very much.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that we have just ridden in a Tiguan - a good car, I liked it.

Thank you.

* * *

Prime Minister Putin's closing remarks:

Ladies and gentlemen,

Much has to be done to make such events happen. No doubt, it is the result of the efforts of many people, in this case, representatives of three nations. These are the efforts of Volkswagen proper, our Czech partners, the Kaluga Region authorities, the Russian Government and the Federal Government of Germany.

When I discussed Opel-related issues with Chancellor Angela Merkel, she would constantly raise the question of the Volkswagen plant's operation in Kaluga, and the effect this might have. It is a very thorough and comprehensive approach towards our cooperation in all areas, especially under the present challenging economic conditions. It is aimed at saving jobs in Germany and in the Czech Republic and at creating new jobs in Russia, as well as meeting the demands of Russians, in this case, for modern and affordable vehicles like the one we see here, on this platform.

By the way, Volkswagen management showed me a promising model for the Russian market, to be unveiled next year. It's Volkswagen proprietary information, and I promised not to disclose it, but I would say that it is a very promising model for our market. It was designed specifically for Russia. To me, this future model offers everything the Russian buyer demands in terms of quality and price.

I would like to touch on another issue which our German colleagues mentioned. A lot of world-class auto manufacturers operate in Russia and in Kaluga, including the Swedish companies I mentioned, the French Renault and Citroën, as well as Japanese companies. The Austrian-Canadian Magna will also launch a production facility in Russia soon. But only Volkswagen is both our partner in the 2014 Olympic preparations and one of the biggest sponsors of the Russian national football team.

I hope that our national team will qualify for the World Cup in South Africa. I hope that the German and the Russian teams will play in the finals.

If it happens, we won't be angry with our German partners if they support their team, the German team in this case. But Volkswagen has been pursuing a multi-vector policy. They have a better chance to see their teams in the finals, since they sponsor both the German and Russian teams.

In conclusion, I would like to once again congratulate everyone who took part in this laborious work. It is an example of building cooperation in auto manufacturing, a very challenging industry.

Auto manufacturing is one of the global economic drivers. We all know that one job in auto manufacturing creates a dozen jobs in other industries, which is the case here. A lot of people combined their efforts to pull off this job.

I would like to thank everyone and wish you good luck. Thank you.