It seems that Russia is the new hotbed of automotive activity. Following in the steps of Volkswagen/Skoda, Ford has announced plans to push productivity in their plant outside St. Petersburg, increasing existing numbers of the Ford Focus and also manufacturing their saloon, the Mondeo.

The latter will require a $100 million upgrade, but since Ford's Russian sales have risen 122% in the first half of 2007, it is definitely money worth spending.

Currently, the Ford plant produces about 72,000 units a year. The goal is to increase that number to 125,000 by 2009 by boosting output of the Focus to 28,000 units and adding 25,000 Mondeos.

As with many other carmakers new to Russia, Ford, which was among the first to enter the market, is profiting both from the decline of OAO AvtoVaz, the market leader which specializes in Soviet-style designs, and the tax breaks that are offered to foreign companies.

With Russia's economy booming, and auto financing becoming more and more available, automobile sales are growing dramatically enough that PriceWaterhouseCoopers is forecasting that it will be Europe's largest market, with a projected $96 billion in sales.