The sale includes its plant in Kaluga, southwest of Moscow, which employs around 4,000 people and has the potential to build 225,000 vehicles a year.
“The new owner will acquire all shares of the Russian subsidiaries. The agreement has been approved by Russian government authorities,” the Volkswagen Group said in a statement.
Like other major automakers, Volkswagen halted operations in Russia last year after the Russian-Ukrainian war prompted Western authorities to impose harsh sanctions that disrupted supply chains.
But Volkswagen had to wait for approval from the Russian government before completing its withdrawal from the country.
Selling business assets from “unfriendly” countries (the term Moscow uses for countries it has sanctioned) requires approval from a government committee that monitors foreign investment.
Volkswagen did not disclose any financial details related to the deal.
But German financial newspaper Handelsblatt said the automaker would get around 125 million euros ($135 million) from the sale, an amount well below the real value of Volkswagen’s assets in Russia.
“All activities have been sold, so we no longer have a presence in Russia,” a Volkswagen spokesman told AFP.
The war on Ukraine has caused foreign companies to leave Russia, including Starbucks, McDonald’s and H&M.
Additionally, Japanese automaker Nissan sold its assets in the country to the Russian government last year.
French carmaker Renault also sold its assets in Russia to Moscow for the symbolic sum of one rouble.
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
