The fact that Volkswagen will soon announce its final withdrawal from Russia was revealed by the author of the Russian Car Telegram channel, Sergey Tsyganov, citing his own sources.
“You know who will be next after Renault? It will be Volkswagen. The concern is expected to announce its final withdrawal from Russia on May 26-27. I know the decision has been made,” he wrote.
The governor of the Kaluga region, Vladislav Shapsha, noted in an interview with socialbites.ca that the regional government does not yet have such information about the decision of the German partner.
“We are meeting regularly with the leadership of Volkswagen’s Russian division, they have recently extended the downtime and are planning to reorganize the component supply chain to continue their work.”
said Shapsha.
If Volkswagen still decides to leave Russia, the regional administration promises to provide employment to factory workers. “We will find a solution that will allow people to keep their jobs,” Shapsha said.
However, socialbites.ca’s sources at Volkswagen Group Rus (the concern’s Russian subsidiary) state that the production plan for the plant in Kaluga is being drawn up, at least until autumn. At the same time, the downtime for workers has been extended until the end of May.
“Now the production program is being done in such a way that automobile production is planned for September. But it can also change, ”says the interlocutor of socialbites.ca.
neutral ground
The second Volkswagen assembly site is located in Nizhny Novgorod at the GAZ plant; directly with Volkswagen.
At the same time, car production will remain there.
The Russian representative office of the Volkswagen Group told socialbites.ca that automobile production at Russian plants has been suspended indefinitely.
“We are constantly monitoring the evolution of the situation. Due to the high uncertainty in the current situation, we cannot foresee a date for the resumption of production in Russia. Production workers are idle, salaries are paid according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, ”the Volkswagen Group told the Russian press service socialbites.ca.
Information about the possible departure of Volkswagen from the Russian market was left without comment to the company. Assembly production in Nizhny Novgorod and the press service of the GAZ Group refused to comment on the situation.
Everything indicates that Volkswagen will announce its withdrawal from the Russian market in the near future, independent automotive industry consultant Sergey Burgazliev is sure. Although, in his opinion, the German concern will do this in the same way as Renault, who decided. save Assembly of popular models under the Moskvich brand.
“I think that somehow the Volkswagen concern will continue in Russia. If we are talking about GAZ, then contract assembly is possible, for example, under the GAZ brand without the Volkswagen logo,
– Burgazliev argues in an interview with socialbites.ca. “They can find a buyer for the main Kaluga plant or sell it in an option format with the possibility of repurchase in a few years.”
The Volkswagen plant in Kaluga can currently cost $ 350-400 million, and the expert believes that it makes sense to look for potential buyers for Volkswagen among the Chinese partners of the German concern, with which the brand has co-production in China.
“The Volkswagen brand itself is unlikely to remain in Russia. Theoretically, they could follow the Chinese plan, for example, where there is an independent Jetta brand, ”Burgazliev summarized.
Vesti FM radio columnist Igor Morzharetto states that Volkswagen Corporation has invested more than 1 billion euros in Russia and it would be a shame if the decision to leave our country is still made.
“Initially, automakers, including Volkswagen, announced that they were freezing production and sales.
“Since the situation has not changed, it is clear that the company cannot continue to pay wages and other payments to workers.”
Morzharetto noted in an interview with socialbites.ca.
Morzharetto concluded that Volkswagen’s departure would be a blow to car-loving consumers and lower incomes in the Kaluga region, where the company’s main plant in Russia is located.
Source: Gazeta
