Moscow  - Magna and Sberbank, prospective majority owners of troubled carmaker Opel, are considering a joint-venture with Russian vehicle manufacturer Avtovaz, the business daily Kommersant reported Wednesday.

The president of Russian state-controlled Sberbank, German Gref, was quoted by the paper as saying that a new firm could be producing six million vehicles annually within five years.

"We will be taking the decision in the next few months," Gref said.

Avtovaz, the ailing producer of Lada cars, has received bail-out loans from the Russian government, and was not, according to Gref, in a position to develop its product line independently, hence the prospective association with Opel.

In May, the German government approved a deal in which it would provide Opel with 2.1 billion dollars-worth of bridging loans, with a view to a consortium of Canadian parts manufacturer Magna, Sberbank and Russian vehicle producer GAZ, taking over the former General Motors concern.

Following that tentative deal, Russian authorities greeted the development as an aid to progress in the Russian car industry, which suffers from a lack of investment and outdated technology.

GAZ was touted as the technical partner in the deal, and would receive technology and know-how enabling it to produce more modern vehicles.(dpa)