Following a lawsuit filed by former Russian partner Gaz, a court in Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga has ordered the confiscation of Volkswagen Russia’s assets. Gaz has applied to the court to annul the termination of the assembly contract and to order Volkswagen to pay a contractual penalty of 15.6 billion rubles (190 million euros), the Interfax news agency reports, citing the court file.
Withdrawal due to sanctions against Russia
The Russian automaker Gaz, known in Soviet times for manufacturing Volga limousines, was Volkswagen’s manufacturing partner in Russia until last year. Several VW and Skoda models were assembled at the Nizhny Novgorod factory. After the US sanctions against Gaz came into force in May, Volkswagen officially withdrew from the joint production and offered the employees there a severance package.
Volkswagen is negotiating a sale
As in VW’s own plant in Kaluga, 150 kilometers south of Moscow, production was stopped shortly after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Recently it became known that Volkswagen is negotiating the sale of its plant and other assets in Russia. The car dealer group Avilon was considered a possible buyer. However, such deals must be approved by the Russian government.
(fpi)
