The Czech car manufacturer, Skoda, is opening an assembly plant in Russia.

The plant in the town of Ijevsk on the Urals will be producing cars for the Russian market when it opens by the end of the year.

The Skoda President, Vratislav Kulhanek, said that although the company would start with a small operation the plant could be expanded in the future.

In addition to its main Czech production site, Skoda -- which is part of the Volkswagen group -- already runs an assembly plant in Poland.