Renault: Russia's 2011 overall car sales at 2.7m

Reuters (Moscow) - French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) said on Tuesday it expects total car sales in Russia to reach nearly 2.7 million units this year, compared to 2.35 million forecast by the Association of European Businesses.

The company owns 25 percent of Lada-maker AvtoVAZ (AVAZ.MM) but has Russian state approval to take a controlling stake alongside Japanese partner Nissan (7201.T).

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told analysts last month that Renault could take a 35 percent stake in AvtoVAZ and Nissan 15 percent, according to witnesses contacted by Reuters.