Driven by Western sanctions, Renault withdraws from Russia. The French automobile group confirmed on Monday May 16 that it had sold all of its assets to the Russian state.
In concrete terms, the French manufacturer is selling its factory near the capital, which produced Renault and Nissan vehicles, to the city of Moscow. The group is also selling to the Russian state the nearly 67.69% of assets it holds in the automotive giant Avtovaz, known for its iconic Lada cars.
With Lada, which he had straightened out, Renault was the leader in the country. This is the first major nationalization since the offensive against Ukraine. The manufacturer did not reveal the amount of the operations, but it should be symbolic, according to the Russian Minister of Trade and Industry.
The latter, Denis Mantourov, had indicated at the end of April that the transfer of shares in Avtovaz would be done for a symbolic rouble. Leaving the Russian market will therefore be very expensive for Renault. The management of the manufacturer had already mentioned a depreciation of assets of around 2.2 billion euros.
Russia was indeed the second market for Renault behind Europe. The French group produced 500,000 vehicles there last year. It employed 45,000 people there. The Diamond brand, however, retains the option of returning to the country in the medium term if the context changes.
Renault sells its stake in Avtovaz to the Russian state, which will take over production. Ladas as soon as possible. Renault’s Moscow factory is sold to the city of Moscow and will produce under the Moskvitch brand, mythical manufacturer of 70’s in the USSR, which disappeared in 2005. (here a 412 model) pic.twitter.com/sedDi0iu3t
— Sylvain Tronchet (@SylvainTronchet) May 16, 2022
It is the NAMI, the Russian institute of research and development of automobiles and engines, which recovers Avtovaz. And the mayor of Moscow announced that the factory located near his city would revive the Soviet brand Moskvitch, whose first mediocre cars were produced in 1946.
Sergei Sobyanin assures that ” most of the workforce working in the plant and for its subcontractors » will be kept. The Russian truck producer Kamaz will be the main partner of the Moscow plant. It remains to be seen whether it will be possible, from scratch, to actually build cars.
► Listen again: Employees of the Renault / Avtovaz factory in Togliatti worried about their future
It should be noted that on the same day, the American fast food giant McDonald’s, present in Russia since the end of the Cold War more than thirty years ago, also announced that it was withdrawing, this time definitively, from the country and that he sold all his activities there.
With agencies