AvtoVaz, the leading Russian automaker, has bought RN Bank, a joint venture between Italian lender UniCredit and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, for an undisclosed fee.
April
NAMI bought Russia’s Nissan for €1 in October with a six-year buyback clause, which the Japanese automaker said cost it about $687 million (12.3 billion rand).
That deal included Nissan’s production and research facilities in St. Petersburg, with a production capacity of 100,000 units, as well as a sales and marketing center in Moscow.
The plant, now owned by AvtoVAZ, has been renamed Lada St Petersburg and produces Lada X-Cross 5s in cooperation with what AvtoVAZ calls an “eastern partner”.
A source close to the company told Reuters that the Bestune T77 compact multi-purpose vehicle belonging to the FAW Group is used to produce Lada cars there. FAO did not respond to questions from Reuters. AvtoVAZ declined to provide further details.
Avtovaz has said publicly that it plans to start localizing production in 2024, using parts from suppliers in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
BMW, Hyundai, Kia
In the Russian stronghold of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea coast, Chinese Kaiyi cars are now produced by automaker Avtotor, which previously assembled BMW, Hyundai and Kia cars.
Avtotour told Reuters it also has agreements to produce cars for China’s BAIC and Shinrai Group at the plant, which currently has a capacity of 80,000 units.
Avtotor said it is working with “partial component localization” and plans to produce about 80,000 vehicles of the three Chinese brands this year. It is preparing for its full production capacity in 2024.
Kaiyi, BAIC, and SWM did not respond to requests for comment.
Volkswagen
Germany’s Volkswagen said in May it had sold its shares in Volkswagen Group Ross to Art-Finance, which is backed by automated trading group Avilon. The deal was valued at 125 million euros (2.5 billion rand), according to a source familiar with the matter.
Volkswagen’s former Kaluga plant, which has an annual production capacity of 225,000 vehicles, has been renamed AGR Automotive by its new owner.
Another source said that Avellon is negotiating a partnership with Chery Automobile, the largest Chinese company in Russia. Chery and AGR Automotive declined to comment.
Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said in June that Volkswagen had no buy-back option.
Mercedes Benz
Mercedes-Benz sold shares in its Russian subsidiaries to the auto dealer chain Avtodom, including its 25,000-unit plant in the Moscow region. It has a six-year buyback option, though the German automaker said it did not expect the provision to apply.
Avtodom told Reuters it was in talks with several partners about assembling luxury Chinese cars there.
Toyota
Japan’s Toyota moved its auto production plant in St. Petersburg to NAMI in March. Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade said it was not yet clear which cars would be produced there, but that the state-owned manufacturer may produce electric vehicles there.
Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in June that Toyota had no buyback option.
stronghold
Russian automaker Solairs said in November that it was producing its Atlant and Argo light commercial vehicles (LCV) at a factory in the Tatarstan region, where Ford Transit trucks previously were produced. The plant has the capacity to produce 85,000 vehicles annually.
A source told Reuters that a Chinese Jack Sun Ray model is being used in production. Solaris declined to comment.
Reuters