The Moscow mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, shared an update on his official platform regarding the Renault plant in Moscow. On the morning of May 16, Renault Group announced the sale of Renault Russia as well as a majority stake in AVTOVAZ to FSUE NAMI. Shortly thereafter, the mayor stated that the majority of Renault Moscow plant employees and their subcontractors would stay on, and a plan for the company’s product lineup would be put in motion.
The new foreign owner chose to close the Renault Moscow plant. While that move sits within the owner’s rights, Sobyanin emphasized that thousands of workers should not be left unemployed. He announced a plan to relocate the factory to the city center and to restart car production under the historic Moskvich brand, ensuring continuity for the workforce and local suppliers.
Sobyanin noted that KAMAZ would become the new technology partner in the revival of the Moscow automobile factory Moskvich. In the initial phase, the production of classic combustion-engined cars would resume, with future integration of electric vehicles into the manufacturing schedule. The mayor added that the Moscow government, together with the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and KAMAZ, would focus on localization of auto parts to maximize domestic content where possible.
More than a century ago, the enterprise originated as the Moscow Automobile Assembly Plant named after KIM. It began by producing Ford vehicles and later carried the names MZMA and AZLK, becoming famed for the Moskvitch line. The factory faced a downturn in the 1990s, and from 1998 onward it operated in partnership with Renault under the label Avtoframos. In recent years, the plant was known as Renault Russia, with roughly 70 percent of its components localized as reported in 2019. The most recent models associated with the site included the Renault Kaptur, Arkana crossover, and the newer Duster.
- The halt in local production was announced at the end of April 2022.
- Updates and announcements have circulated through messaging channels such as Viber.
In this renewed approach, the city aims to preserve industrial heritage while rebuilding a modern automobile hub. The plan aligns with broader regional development goals and seeks to retain skilled labor, support a robust supplier network, and foster technological partnerships that could anchor future manufacturing within Moscow’s urban core. Details on implementation timelines, investment scales, and local content targets continue to be refined by the involved authorities and corporate partners. Sources of confirmation include official communications from city leadership and the Renault group’s public statements, cited here for context.[citation: Moscow city administration]