MOSCOW — GAZ, Russia's second largest automaker, plans to invest $270 million to build a new assembly plant near its headquarters in Nizhny Novgorod. The plant, which is slated to open in 2010, will have an annual capacity of 300,000 units.At the 2008 Moscow Auto Show in August, GAZ formally unveiled its newest passenger car, the midsize Siber, based on the Chrysler Sebring. The company also builds Maxus and GAZelle trucks and vans.The new plant will build a new-generation GAZelle, as well as new versions of the Maxus, which was acquired when GAZ purchased the assets of British truckmaker LDV.Inside Line says: The Russian stock market crash could slow the expansion plans of GAZ, which is controlled by the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent