La invasion of Ukraine by Russia It has turned the world economy upside down. The automobile sector is greatly affected since globalization led several brands to settle in Russia. Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Renault set their sights on the Eurasian country to expand its operations. But they were not the only ones and the last victim is none other than the Grupo Volkswagen with its main signature as great the great harmed.
If you do a bit of memory you will remember that we already told you about the Volkswagen problems in Russia. The German house wanted to leave the country to, in addition to complying with international sanctions, protect its accounts. The fact is that it had been "stuck" because His partners claimed that he had not fulfilled his contract as it is. And after several months of negotiations it seems that they have already found a solution that, for a change, is to Russian taste...
The Volkswagen Group manufactures several of its own models in Russia and some for Skoda...
In case you did not know the Volkswagen Group manufactures several models on Russian soil. These are the Polo and Tiguan as well as the Skoda Rapid that the Czech house sells in several countries. They all come out of the facilities they have in Kaluga, although other models also come out of the GAZ ones. These are the Volkswagen Taos as well as part of the Skoda Karoq, Kodiaq and Octavia family. Lastly, in 2015 they opened the Kaluga Engine Plant…
As you can see, the operations of the Bavarian conglomerate in Russia are extensive and ambitious. The but is that because of the war and the sanctions they have had to get rid of the local company. According to the official press release published by the German group…
«Volkswagen Group has sold its shares in Volkswagen Group Rus to a local investor. With the registration of the transaction, the ownership of shares in the authorized capital of Volkswagen Group Rus LLC and its subsidiaries is transferred from the sellers to the buyer»
«The new owner will acquire all the shares of the Russian subsidiaries. The deal has been approved by Russian government authorities. The transaction includes the production facilities in Kaluga, the structure of the importer (distribution and after-sales business) and the warehousing and financial services activities with all its associated employees."
What will happen now with the production of these models…?
As you can see, Volkswagen has lost an important point of production and, surely, of sales. Even so, the worst thing is the blow that the Russian authorities have dealt to their accounts. To settle in the country, during 2007, they invested some 800 million dollars with which to build the Kaluga plant. Well, it seems that only they would have received about 135 million dollars with the sale of your local business which is a loss.
However, taking into account that Renault and Nissan have had to leave without recovering a penny they can be satisfied. The question lies in knowing what will happen to the models that they assembled locally, as well as the entire supply chain for parts of the models that are still circulating in the country. For now, Volkswagen and Skoda can cover the demand with other factories and, most likely, they will return to the Eurasian country once everything is over...
No?
Source – Volkswagen
More information about this model
- Plazas 5 - 7
- Power 130 - 272 hp
- Consumer goods 5,3 - 6,4l/100km
- Assessment 4