Mercedes follows VW, Toyota, Nissan and Renault in exiting the Russian market
Η Mercedes-Benz will withdraw from the Russian market and sell shares in its industrial and financial services subsidiaries to a local investor, making it the latest automaker to exit the country.
Mercedes-Benz Russia has announced that shares in local subsidiaries will be sold to the car dealer chain Avtodom.
The company's CFO, Harald Wilhelm, presented the third quarter results and stated that the transaction is not expected to have any further significant impact on the group's profitability and financial position beyond what has been reported in previous quarters.
"The final completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of the authority and the implementation of the contractually agreed terms," he added.
The carmaker will join a long list of companies that are also closing their presence in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine at the end of February.
The Volkswagen Group is looking for an investor to take over its plant in Kaluga, where production stopped immediately after the war in Ukraine began.
Toyota Motor has announced that it will stop manufacturing vehicles in the country.
Mazda Motor is considering a permanent exit, the Japanese company said.
Nissan said it will hand over its Russian operations to a state agency for 1 euro ($0.97), with a loss of about 100 billion yen ($687 million).
Renault has decided to sell its majority stake in AvtoVAZ to a Russian scientific institute. The agreement, however, includes a six-year option to buy back the stake.
Kia said this week that it is considering closing its plant in St. Petersburg, Russia, run by subsidiary Hyundai Motor
Both Nissan and Renault included six-year buy-out clauses. Russian newspaper Vedomosti quoted a source as saying that the Mercedes deal may include a similar clause.
A Mercedes spokesman said the company's 15% stake in Russian automaker Kamaz would not be affected by the planned transaction and should be transferred to Daimler Truck this year as planned.
Avtodom said it will select a technology partner to continue operating the production facilities in the Esipovo industrial area northwest of Moscow, where Mercedes has a production plant.
"The key priorities in agreeing the terms of the transaction were to maximise the fulfilment of obligations to customers from Russia, both in terms of after-sales and financial services, and to maintain the jobs of employees in the Russian parts of the company." Said Natalia Koroleva, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Rus.
Mercedes suspended production in Russia at the beginning of March.
The Association of European Businesses (AEB) said 9,558 Mercedes vehicles were sold in Russia from January to September, down 73% year-on-year.
