OOO Sollers-Bussan, a joint venture between Russian automaker Sollers Group and Japan's Mitsui formed in August 2010, will start production of Toyota Land Cruiser Prados in 2012, Sollers said.

"For the purposes of effectively implementing the project, Sollers-Bussan has signed the necessary agreement with Russia's Economic Development Ministry for industrial assembly. [The agreement] foresees new production capacity being developed in the framework of the Russo-Japanese JV, which will start assembling one of the most in-demand offroad models in Russia, the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. The JV's forecast production will come to around 1,000 cars a months in its first stage," Sollers said in a statement.

Sollers-Bussan was founded on August 20, 2010 in which Sollers and Mitsui own on parity basis.

The Vladivostok-registered JV has 10,000 rubles in charter capital.

Official spokesperson for Sollers Zoya Kaika told Interfax that the JV had been formed in order to support OOO Sollers-Far East's main operations in car production, as well as providing logistical services for the supply of car parts and components.

The JV will also manage a logistics center, wharf facility and container site in Vladivostok.

"The decision to create a separate company was the done since effective and quality management of port infrastructure requires specific expertise and additional investment, which would be logical to concentrate in a separate legal entity with the involvement of a financial partner," she said.

Sollers, formerly Severstal-Auto, manages the Ulyanovsk Automotive Plant, Zavolzhsky Motor Plant, Sollers-Naberezhniye Chelny, Sollers-Elabuga and Sollers-Far East.

The company also has an engine manufacturing joint venture with Fiat Powertrain Technologies. Sollers produces UAZ, Fiat, Isuzu and SsangYong models in Russia.