AvtoVAZ bought out from FSUE NAMI, controlled by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, a 99% stake in the authorized capital of Nissan Manufacturing Rus LLC for € 1, the company is the owner of the former Nissan plant in St. Petersburg. The relevant documents were signed by AvtoVAZ President Maxim Sokolov and NAMI General Director Fyodor Nazarov. Before that, the deal was approved by the government of the Russian Federation. It is noted that the deal retains an option for Nissan to buy back assets in Russia for six years. According to experts, the purchase will help AvtoVAZ improve logistics.
The transaction for the acquisition by JSC AvtoVAZ of a share in the authorized capital of LLC Nissan Manufacturing Rus was closed. On Tuesday, February 7, the relevant documents were signed by AvtoVAZ President Maxim Sokolov and FGUP NAMI General Director Fyodor Nazarov. Before that, the deal was approved by the government of the Russian Federation. This was reported by the press service of the Togliatti plant. “As part of the agreements, JSC AvtoVAZ acquired a 99% stake in the authorized capital of Nissan Manufacturing RUS LLC at a price of €1 with payment in the ruble equivalent at the exchange rate on the date of payment,” the report says.
It is noted that the deal “retains a call option for Nissan to buy back former assets in Russia for six years.” The buyback must also be approved by the government of the Russian Federation.
Last November, FSUE NAMI became the new owner of all the assets of the Japanese automobile concern Nissan. The Russian organization, among other things, got a plant in St. Petersburg, which stopped production in March 2022, a sales and marketing center in Moscow. It was reported that AvtoVAZ would service Nissan cars in the future. The Japanese concern estimated its one-time losses in connection with the withdrawal from Russia at about $686 million. The Nissan plant has been operating in St. Petersburg since 2009. The company produced XTrail, Qashqai and Murano models. The production capacity was 100 thousand cars per year. In 2021, about 45 thousand cars were assembled.
At the beginning of this year, AvtoVAZ management announced that it plans to produce up to 70,000 cars annually at the former Nissan site in St. Petersburg by 2027. In particular, cars under the Lada brand will be produced – three models, including C-class sedans and D-class crossovers. The volume of output will depend “on the dynamics of demand in the Russian automotive market.” “In 2025-2027, the production of new LADA cars in St. Petersburg can reach up to 50-70 thousand per year if there is a positive trend in the market,” the company’s press release said. In 2023, the plant plans to produce up to 10 thousand cars at the St. Petersburg site.
• At the end of January 2023, AvtoVAZ sales in Russia amounted to 17,468 commercial and passenger vehicles. This is almost 3% lower than in January last year. The most popular model was Lada Granta, which was chosen by 11.9 thousand Russian buyers in January. Compared to January 2022, sales of this model more than doubled (115.4%). Sales of Lada Niva amounted to 4.95 thousand cars, which is 94% higher than in January 2022. According to AvtoVAZ, the share of Lada in the Russian market exceeds 40%.
According to industrial expert Leonid Khazanov, Candidate of Economic Sciences, the purchase of the enterprise, previously owned by Nissan, will allow AvtoVAZ to distribute car production between two regions – St. Petersburg and the Samara region. “The Nissan plant, most likely, will work on the requests of customers from the North-West of Russia, and therefore it will be easier and cheaper to deliver cars from it than from Tolyatti. And thus it would be possible to slow down the growing imports from China,” says Leonid Khazanov. The expert does not rule out that in the future, serial production of electric vehicles can be launched at the site, “taking into account the state program for the development of electric transport being implemented in Russia and the proximity of the factory for the production of lithium-ion batteries, created by Rosatom in the Kaliningrad region.” Last month, the press service of AvtoVAZ, following a meeting between the head of the enterprise Maxim Sokolov and the chairman of the St. electric car created in the city.