Kamaz to halt assembly lines on low demand

Russian truck maker Kamaz, in which Germany's Daimler took a 10 percent stake last week, will halt assembly lines from Dec. 19 until Jan. 19, Kamaz said on Wednesday.

"This is linked to a huge amount of unsold stock... Russia is in hibernation. There is no demand," said Kamaz spokesman Vladimir Samoilov.

Kamaz was down 3.9 percent on the Micex exchange .MCX at 1500 GMT, well below the index, which was up 0.3 percent. Daimler's stock was up 1.3 percent.

Russia's construction firms and heavy industries, where Kamaz finds most of its customers, have been forced to scale back production and cancel projects by the global financial crisis.

Kamaz idled its assembly lines for two weeks in November due to the slowdown in demand.

Daimler, seeking access to what it says will become one of the largest truck markets in Europe, signed a deal to pay $250 million for the 10 percent stake on Dec. 12. The deal calls for a further $50 million to be paid in 2012 if Kamaz meets earnings and sales targets.

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