The car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has completely withdrawn from Russia and sold its shares in Russian subsidiaries. But a return is not out of the question.
Mercedes-Benz has completely withdrawn from the Russian market more than a year after the start of the Ukraine war. The shares in the Russian subsidiaries were sold to an investor in April, the company announced today at the request of the dpa news agency. The necessary official approvals have been granted and the contractual agreements have been implemented.
Local chain takes over
As already known, the buyer is the local car dealership chain Avtodom. The Mercedes-Benz initially did not give any further details. Shortly after the start of the Russian war of aggression on February 24, 2022, Mercedes stopped exporting to Russia and local production. CFO Harald Wilhelm announced last October that he wanted to sell the business.
The Reuters news agency quoted from a Russian company register last Wednesday, according to which Avtodom has held 100 percent of the shares in Mercedes-Benz Capital Rus and Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Rus since April 18. However, at that time it was apparently still unclear whether all the necessary official approvals had been obtained.
Buyback option secured
The automaker has secured a buyback option when it sells its Russian assets to Avtodom. “We have agreed an option with the buyer that allows us to buy back the company’s shares if the sanctions are lifted,” the DAX group announced last Wednesday.
The buyback clause has become a popular option for automakers exiting the Russian market. Other automakers like Renault and Nissan, which sold their Russian businesses for symbolic sums last year, both had six-year buyback clauses in their sales contracts.
On April 28, Mercedes-Benz will present the final figures for the first quarter.