"Moves to take control of Russian car-maker AvtoVAZ may be the Renault-Nissan alliance's final opportunity to grab the leading position in one of the four largest growth markets." from South China Morning Post

"Carlos Ghosn, who heads Renault and Nissan Motor, needs Russia because mature markets are stagnating and the remaining three biggest emerging markets already have dominant overseas carmakers. Volkswagen is the biggest in China, Fiat is largest in Brazil and Suzuki Motor leads in India."

"VW owes its lead in China to a successful encounter with a visiting Chinese delegation in the 1970s, Christoph Stuermer, a Frankfurt-based analyst at IHS Automotive, said. Europe's biggest carmaker now claims more than 11 per cent of Chinese vehicle sales, according to IHS data. Suzuki, once invited to rescue Indian carmaker Maruti, now dominates that market with a 36 per cent share."