The day before, the official Renault headquarters in Russia received a letter (available from socialbites.ca) from the head of the Renault Dealers Association (ADR), Edurd Markman, in which he informed his colleagues about the request for support to the government. their job. The head of ADR said the automaker risks losing jobs for nearly 11,000 employees, and the owners of 150 car dealerships have actually lost their jobs.
“For many companies, Renault has been an important part of all their business. We have decided to seek support from the government of the Russian Federation in this matter. We would like to draw attention to the situation in the automotive market in general,” he said.
In the process of work, many Renault dealers had to invest tens of millions of rubles in the design and corporate branding of car dealerships, in accordance with the marketing policy of the car company. The issue of compensation for these investments in DRA is considered the most problematic.
“Consultations are now underway with lawyers with experience in dealing with international courts to prepare a class action lawsuit against the Renault group,” Markman said in a letter.
In addition, he said that the dealers council is actively trying to determine the successor of CJSC Renault Russia, as well as the fate of the signed dealer contracts.
The problem is that the French group left Russia completely,
There was not a single immigrant left in the country who could shed light on the situation.
New cars of the brand will no longer be produced and exported to the country, and the Renault Moscow plant is no longer associated with the French, since it came under the control of the Moscow government on May 16.
A socialbites.ca source from Renault’s former Moscow representative office noted that the French side stopped communicating with former Russian personnel last month and did not respond to requests.
What about the Renault warranty?
The good news for numerous owners of French brand cars is that with Renault’s departure, they will not be left without service in the Russian Federation. The obligation and rights to supply spare parts were transferred to AvtoVAZ.
According to Markman, towards the end of June, the renegotiation of service contracts will take place with the “daughter” of the Volga Automobile Plant – JSC “Lada Image”.
“According to this information, only the existing Renault dealer network will reserve the right to use the warranty.
The Lada dealer network will not be involved unless a Renault dealership closes in the region.
In such a case, the right to warranty service will be transferred to a specific Lada dealer,” the head of ADR said in a statement.
All official headquarters of the French brand in the Russian Federation will retain the right to use the Renault trademark for three years after the cessation of the company’s activities – that is, until the warranty expires for new cars sold in 2022. At the same time
technical centers are exempted from the obligation to comply with Renault standards “in terms of quality and work organization”,
ADR said in his letter.
“So, you can get free pricing, download reports, transfer data to Renault on spare parts, etc.,” the association said. There is no need,” he said.
no money will be given
Independent auto industry consultant Sergei Burgazliev believes Russian dealers are unlikely to receive any compensation from the company leaving the market. He is surprised by their claims, even though the margins made by the same vendors for additional equipment a few months ago reached incredible amounts.
“Dealers for some reason didn’t care about the return on investment in their business when there was a natural pull in the market.
Everything suited everyone. Now it is not clear how they will prove some kind of loss of profit or expense for their business if they are specified in the contracts signed by the parties. Will the court accept such claims? Burgaliyev told socialbites.ca.
According to the SPARK Interfax database, in 2021 CJSC Renault Russia reported revenues of 155 billion rubles according to Russian accounting standards, while net profit amounted to 1.4 billion rubles.
But Burgazliev noted that it is clear that most of this money is withdrawn as profits or spent as necessary working capital for the operational needs of the Russian subsidiary. He estimates the chances of dealers in European courts to be minimal. The source concluded that in the event of Renault Russia’s bankruptcy, the only thing auto dealers could try to claim among the other plaintiffs was the bankruptcy filing.
Source: Gazeta
