The buyer could be the Avtodom dealer, and the Moscow Region Development Corporation is participating in the negotiations, Kommersant writes, citing his sources. That Mercedes-Benz is selling a factory in Russia was told to the publication on the real estate market. 20% of the company in Esipovo near Moscow belongs to JV “Daimler KAMAZ Rus”, the rest – the parent company Mercedes-Benz AG.
We can talk about a complex deal, which also includes the rights of the distributor of the brand in the Russian market. Several dealers are involved in the negotiations and the main contender is called “Car house”.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz will sell the building in Veshki near Moscow, which contains office space and service. The buyer is unknown.
The company’s representative office, as well as Avtodom, declined to comment, as there are still no specific decisions.
Earlier, representatives of Avtodom hinted that they planned to develop not only in the automotive retail business, but possibly also to organize industrial assembly. But then everyone decided we were talking about assembling electric vehicles from Chinese car kits.
The market was surprised by this information: why would a dealer buy a company if he is still unable to produce a Mercedes there due to sanctions? The Mercedes group is unlikely to provide car kits due to the risk of being subject to sanctions itself. On the other hand, it seems that Mercedes-Benz is reviewing the form of its presence in Russia, and there is always an opportunity to negotiate with a dealer. In addition, as you know, Mercedes has never returned any investment in the factory, which launched in 2019, so it makes sense that the concern retains the option to buy back the site.
The government of the Moscow region is aware of the situation, but has so far declined to give details about the future fate of the plant.