Mercedes-Benz sells its shares in Russia's projects

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian Industry and Trade Ministry announced on Wednesday that German automotive producer Mercedes-Benz plans to sell its shares in Russian subsidiaries to a local investor.

The new owner, AVTODOM company, will be able to attract other companies as production partners to organize joint production at the plant in the Yesipovo Industrial Park in the Moscow region, the ministry said in a statement.

"As a result of the negotiation process, we managed to reach the final stage of an investment deal. It is important that this will ensure the efficiency of the plant, and preserve highly qualified jobs and competencies.

"I would also like to note that after the completion of all approvals, the new owner of the Russian divisions of Mercedes-Benz, AVTODOM, will be able to carry out maintenance of Mercedes-Benz cars sold on the Russian market," the statement quoted Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Albert Karimov.

According to the Russian daily Vedomosti, the terms of the deal may provide for an option under which Mercedes-Benz will be able to return to the ownership of the plant within a certain time. Earlier, Renault and Nissan companies left the Russian market under the same terms.

Mercedes launched a plant located in the Yesipovo Industrial Park in the Solnechnogorsk district of the Moscow region in 2019.

The declared volume of investments amounted to at least 15 billion rubles (about $245 million). The plant is designed to produce 25,000-30,000 premium cars per year.