BERLIN / MOSCOW –
Mercedes-Benz mentioned on Wednesday it could withdraw from the Russian market and sell shares in its industrial and monetary companies subsidiaries to a local investor, turning into the newest carmaker to exit the nation.
Japan’s Nissan this month took a US$687 million loss in handing over its enterprise in Russia to a state-owned entity for one euro, mirroring an earlier transfer by Renault which offered its majority stake in Russia’s Avtovaz for one rouble.
Mercedes-Benz Russia mentioned shares within the local subsidiaries could be offered to automobile vendor chain Avtodom.
Mercedes Chief Financial Officer Harald Wilhelm, whereas presenting third-quarter outcomes, mentioned the transaction was not anticipated to give rise to any additional important results when it comes to the group’s profitability and monetary place past these reported in earlier quarters.
“Final completion of the transaction is topic to the authority’s approval and the implementation of contractually agreed situations,” he added.
Both Nissan and Renault included six-year buyback clauses. Russia’s Vedomosti day by day cited a supply as saying that the Mercedes deal could embrace the same clause.
A Mercedes spokesperson mentioned the corporate’s 15% stake in Russian truckmaker Kamaz wouldn’t be affected by the supposed transaction and ought to be transferred to Daimler Truck this 12 months as deliberate.
Avtodom mentioned it could choose a know-how accomplice to proceed working the manufacturing services on the Esipovo industrial property northwest of Moscow, the place Mercedes-Benz has a manufacturing plant.
“The foremost priorities in agreeing the phrases of the transaction had been to maximize the achievement of obligations to purchasers from Russia each when it comes to after-sales companies and monetary companies, in addition to preserving jobs of workers on the Russian divisions of the corporate,” Natalia Koroleva, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Rus, mentioned in an announcement.
Mercedes suspended manufacturing in Russia in early March.
The Association of European Businesses (AEB) mentioned 9,558 Mercedes autos had been offered in Russia from January to September, down 72.8% from a 12 months earlier.
Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Gleb Stolyarov and Alexander Marrow; enhancing by Andrew Heavens and Jason Neely