Hyundai has announced that it has sold its car manufacturing plant in Russia. The South Korean carmaker had stopped building vehicles at the St Petersburg plant in March 2022, shortly after the commencement of the Russia-Ukraine war. As per a report in Reuters, Hyundai has taken a hit of USD 219.19 million (approx Rs 1,830 crore) on selling the plant.
This plant was building the Creta, the previous-gen Verna (Solaris) and the Kia Rio sedan. The new Verna is now exclusively built in India for domestic and export markets.
In a statement, Hyundai has said that in a Board of Directors meeting, the plan to sell its entire stake in Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus (HMMR LLC) to Art-Finance LLC was approved. Hyundai is currently making the final arrangements with Art-Finance for details of the deal. The company added that it will continue to provide aftersales services and other customer care businesses to Hyundai vehicle owners in the country.
With this decision taken, Hyundai joins a list of other carmakers that are exiting the Russian market. These include the likes of Volkswagen, Skoda, Stellantis, Suzuki, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Renault, Nissan, Ferrari, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Volvo and Porsche, among others.
Hormazd Sorabjee
Anurag Chaturvedi
