The Gorky Automobile Plant has launched a third lawsuit against Volkswagen, seeking 15.6 billion rubles in the Arbitration Court of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, according to RIA Novosti.
Court records show that GAZ is demanding 15,574 billion rubles from Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft and Volkswagen Group Rus. The claim was filed earlier this year, with the proceedings opening on May 5, though additional details were not disclosed.
This follows the first suit filed by the plant on March 14, in which GAZ sought termination of the contractual assembly agreement with Volkswagen in Nizhny Novgorod and requested damages of 15.6 billion rubles. On March 17, the court granted GAZ permission to seize the German company’s property within the Russian Federation.
In April, GAZ filed a new claim seeking 28.4 billion rubles, but the court did not grant the requested injunctions. Later, the court lifted the seizure of all Volkswagen assets in Russia in connection with the initial case.
RIA Novosti notes that the first case is being conducted behind closed doors, with the next hearing scheduled for May 30. The first session concerning GAZ’s second claim is set for June 7.
According to sources cited by the newspaper Vedomosti, a recently approved government commission on foreign investments has given the green light to the sale of the Volkswagen plant in Kaluga, signaling potential shifts in the broader corporate landscape surrounding the dispute.