By Mauro Orru
Volkswagen said it had sold its Russian business to Art-Finance, an investor backed by Russian auto dealer Avilon, making the German car maker the latest western company to pull out of the country after the invasion of Ukraine.
Volkswagen announced the completion of the deal on Friday, saying the transaction included production facilities in Kaluga, warehousing, its distribution and after-sales business, and financial services activities with all associated employees.
Russian government authorities approved the deal, for which Volkswagen didn’t disclose financial terms. Volkswagen’s Russian subsidiary had previously stopped production and imports of all Volkswagen brands, including Audi, Porsche and Skoda.
However, the group still had assets in Russia, including a plant in Kaluga that put out some 118,000 vehicles in 2021, according to Volkswagen data. Volkswagen and Skoda models were being produced in Nizhny Novgorod under a contract with Russian automotive manufacturer GAZ.
Write to Mauro Orru at [email protected]; @MauroOrru94
Read the full article here
