Car Market to Shrink. Speaking at AvtoVAZ, Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Khristenko said on March 30 that Russia's car market may shrink by 60 percent in 2009 year-on-year. He added that only state purchases would keep the auto market from suffering a further decline

Speaking later at the plant, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin promised that the government would provide the factory with an interest-free loan of 25 billion rubles and extend 13.6 billion rubles of state guarantees to the automobile industry. GAZ was less lucky and did not receive any fresh cash.