Volkswagen suspends production in Russia
- The Volkswagen group has announced that it will suspend its automobile production in Russia, pending the end of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. In addition, the German manufacturer has decided to suspend its exports to Russia with immediate effect. Currently, the German manufacturer, which locally produces Volkswagens and Skodas (in comparable proportions), has two factories in Russia: Kaluga and Nijni-Novgorod.
- In 2021, the Volkswagen group produced 173,000 cars (including 121,000 in Kaluga and 52,000 in Nizhny Novgorod) compared to 185,000 in 2020 and 216,000 in 2019. This production volume represents 14% of automotive production in Russia in 2021 , the German manufacturer being supplanted by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group (40% of production in Russia) which owns the Lada brand and by the Hyundai-Kia group (30% of production in Russia).
- As for the Volkswagen group's exports to Russia, they remain low, not exceeding 31,000 units in 2021 (including 16,000 Audis and 6,000 Porsches) compared to 36,000 in 2020 and 37,000 in 2019.
- In conclusion, the Volkswagen group after establishing itself on the Russian market between 2008 and 2014, going from sales close to zero to a volume of 200,000 units per year, stabilized at this level in 2018 and 2019, before decline from 2020. It is surprising that the group has not planned to manufacture Audi brand Premium models there, while BMW and Mercedes have had production plants in Russia for several years.
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