Japanese automaker Nissan has agreed to sell its Russian assets to the Russian state represented by FSUE NAMI. This was reported in an official statement by Nissan.
“Signing an imminent exit from the market, Nissan’s board today approved the sale of its Russian operations to NAMI.
– highlighted in the message. “As a result of the sale, all Nissan operations in Russia under the control of the Nissan Manufacturing Rus LLC legal entity will be transferred to NAMI for future passenger car production projects.”
Nissan said the deal was St. Petersburg, he said, as well as a Moscow-based sales and marketing division. The amount is not specified.
The Japanese auto company has already calculated that Nissan’s departure from Russia will result in a loss of 100 billion yen ($686 billion).
The press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, referring to the head of the department, Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, reported that NAMI will have the opportunity to attract other partners to install the plant.
“As a result of the negotiations, it was possible to achieve a format in which the enterprise remains operational: core competencies, production cycle and jobs are preserved – and this is about 2 thousand employees of the enterprise,” said Manturov.
The press service of the Volga Automobile Plant said that AvtoVAZ will provide spare parts and warranty service for Nissan cars. Previously, the same measures were taken after Renault left Russia.
“Nissan dealers who have decided to continue working with Japanese brand cars are scheduled to sign appropriate agreements with AvtoVAZ,” the Russian automaker said in a statement.
Missing pieces
AvtoVAZ will take over the management of the central spare parts warehouse and supply parts and consumables.
Sergey Tselikov, general director of the Avtostat analytical agency, believes that against this background, there may be problems with the supply of large spare parts, including warranty repairs.
“With consumables like filters and brake pads, it’s likely not going to be a problem. The main problems are expected in the rare spare parts that fail unexpectedly, including those under warranty.
“There are definitely such problems now for both Renault and Nissan,” he said.
Tselikov states in an interview with socialbites.ca.
However, the expert adds that it is impossible for car owners to stock up on such spare parts for future use, just as it does not seem appropriate to purchase filters and brake pads for the future.
Sergey Burgazliev, an independent automotive industry consultant, says that under these circumstances Nissan’s exit from the Russian market is expected, and geopolitical reasons likely contributed to the final decision.
“I think the political component played a role in Nissan’s departure from Russia, as in the case of Toyota.
The most attractive is the e-Neva electric car project developed by the Almaz-Antey concern in St. It will bring it to the factory in St. Petersburg.
– Burgazliev argues in an interview with socialbites.ca.
He emphasizes that the role of Nissan, which is experienced in electric vehicle production, in this project would be appropriate and logical, but that it was at the discretion of the new owner. At the same time, the expert added that the project requires in-depth refinement, the construction of pre-series samples and preparation for mass production.
A new tech investor could get the plant up and running, but Russia has hostile relations with almost every country in the world, and even Chinese brands are wary of the market. Sergei Tselikov from Avtostat points out that only those with no direct links to the Chinese government work, and companies from Iran and India are among the potential players.
“If the business is offered for free, maybe one of them will be interested,
but in the current situation it does not make much sense to invest in automobile production in Russia, ”Tselikov summarized.
According to data from the official Nissan website, the company has 116 dealerships throughout Russia. At the moment in dealers in Moscow there are 4 Murano crossovers, 19 Terrano, more than fifty X-Trails, 66 Qashqai crossovers. In 2006, by a Japanese company, St. Petersburg, and automobile production began in the summer of 2009.