The total market for the region is currently around 4 million vehicles, but could jump to 5 million to 6 million vehicles in the next three to five years, according to Forster. He said the current political tensions surrounding Russia and Georgia shouldn't dent sales, noting that the West did not want to 'alienate' Russia. GM -- which turns 100 years old next month -- has European brands that include Chevrolet, Cadillac, Saab, and Opel. It operates 10 assembly plants in seven European countries with about 56,000 employees and 9,000 dealerships. GM said 65 percent of the company's sales are now from outside North America. Forster said the company's strategy has always been to produce locally, and it will open a third assembly plant in St. Petersburg, Russia, later this year. 'Were looking to expand our manufacturing footprint, and the number of dealerships in the region,' Forster said. 'We have a good product portfolio and are coming up with new products and looking for products for the market conditions.' He would not elaborate on what those products are. General Motors Europe sold nearly 600,000 cars in the second quarter, driven by near 50 percent growth in Russia. The Chevrolet brand saw an almost 20 percent jump in sales to 137,000. Overall market share in Europe was steady at 9.4 percent. The company said its material and structural cost performance improved during the quarter, but the strong euro and economic slowdown in key markets including the U.K., Spain and Italy had an impact on earnings. The European business saw about a 12 percent increase in sales to $10.6 billion in the second quarter compared with $9.5 billion in the second quarter of 2007. Its pretax profit dropped to $99 million from $345 million a year earlier.