Carlos Ghosh then head of the Nissan Renault Alliance in 2012. The Alliance sold 878,990 cars in Russia in 2011 – including 578,387 Ladas. With a market share of nearly 33%, Russia is now the Alliance’s third largest market after China and the United States.
Nissan’s Executive Committee has approved the sale of its Russian operations to NAMI, the Central Research and Development Automobile and Engine Institute. This follows the suspension last March of operations in the market. Under the new ownership of the NMGR*, a State Research Center of the Russian Federation, all of Nissan’s employees in the market will receive employment protection for 12 months.
The sale is expected to be formalized in the coming weeks following approvals from the authorities, which sure looks inevitable since it’s being sold to the Russian government. The terms of the sale are hedged. It would allow Nissan the option to buy back the entity and its operations within the next six years. It’s the latest example of global automakers shutting operation in a totalitarian state. Will China be next?
