Bogdan Corporation, one of the leading Ukrainian automobile producers, has sold its 50% stake in private joint-stock company Isuzu Ukraine Automobile Company (Kyiv).

According to a report in the information disclosure system of the National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market, Japan's Isuzu Motors Limited, which earlier held a 30% stake in the private joint-stock company, bought the 50% stake.

Isuzu Ukraine Automobile Company sells Japan's Isuzu trucks in Ukraine.

Another 20% of the share capital in Isuzu Ukraine belongs to Japan's Sojitz Corporation.

Bogdan Corporation Spokesman Serhiy Krasulia told Interfax-Ukraine that the decision to leave the company was linked to a lack of prospects for operations in this direction.

"In the current situation of the Ukrainian automobile market, including the availability of large numbers of old commercial vehicles, the corporation has decided to leave the company," he said.

The corporation does not leave the light truck segment, continuing selling Hyundai HD trucks.

According to a report of Isuzu Ukraine, the shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting withdrew Pavlo Alekseyenko (director general), Mykhailo Sokol (commercial director), Andriy Zinchak (director), Takashi Kaneko (financial director) and Yoshihiko Funasaki (technical director) from the company's board.

The shareholders decided to replace the board by the post of director general, electing chief accountant of the private joint-stock company Inna Matiashova acting director general for the period until the order on taking the post by Yasuyuki Niijima.

Isuzu Motors was appointed auditor of the company instead of the audit commission.

The industrial assets of Bogdan Corporation include production of cars in Cherkasy with a capacity of 120,000-150,000 cars (Lada, Hyundai and cars under its own brand) and 6,000 buses and trolleybuses per year in Lutsk.

Isuzu Motors Ltd. and Sojitz started cooperating with Cherkasy Bus, part of the Ukrprominvest Concern, in 1998 and in 1999 the joint-stock company bought a first Isuzu truck and starting producing a first model of Bogdan bus. Later Ukrprominvest created the Bogdan Corporation, one of the assets of which was Cherkasy Bus.

Cherkasy Bus, after leaving the corporation after the change of its owner, continued producing buses on the ISUZU base, but under own brand – Ataman.