The Renault Group has found itself in a very uncomfortable situation in the midst of a flight of foreign companies from the Russian market, given its exposure to AvtoVAZ and being an important local producer in that country. It will mass-produce everything it can do.
Compliance with international sanctions for the Russo-Ukrainian war It has been one of the main causes of the stampede of the European automobile industry in the Russian market, although it was also necessary to take into account unexpected logistical difficulties.
Some companies have had to close their activity in Russia for other reasons. Take Bosch as an example, which has detected the use of its components in Russian military vehicles used against Ukraine, which violates its supply agreement. Consequently, he has turned off the tap.
On the other hand we have Renault, which has had to choose between maintaining its activity in Russia, despite the cost in image it may have, and closing factories and watching the specter of the nationalizations announced by Vladimir Putin hover. They have ended up jumping through hoops by choosing plan A, despite the unstable supply of components.
Promotional video of the Moscow factory of the Renault Group, not shared with other manufacturers
The Moscow factory, founded in 2005, had been stopped since the beginning of the military invasion of Ukraine, the reason being the need to reorganize logistics routes for all those components that came from Europe. Today he has returned to activity indefinitely.
The Renault Duster, Kaptur and Arkana models are manufactured at this plant, equivalent to the Dacia Duster, Renault Captur and Arkana known west of the Urals. It is also manufactured nissan terranoa really curious mixture of the Duster body and the front of the Pathfinder.
The 2020 production data was not really surprising. 18,955 units of the Kaptur, 34,180 of the first generation Duster and the first 141 second generation Duster, 12,320 Arkana and 10,239 units of the second generation were manufactured. Dacia Nissan Terrano. They have not updated with 2021 data.
Promotional image of the Nissan Terrano for the Russian market
Other models that are for sale in the Russian market are of «Dacia origin», see the Renault Sandero and Sandero Stepway, Logan and Logan Stepway -unpublished in these parts-. In addition, we have the large industrial Renault Master completing the Russian range.
It so happens that France remains a major shareholder of the Renault Group, and the position of the Gallic country has become very rigid with Russia due to the aggression against its Ukrainian neighbor. That has not been an obstacle for Renault to maintain its activity in Russia.
As to AvtoVAZ, part of the Renault Group, has been manufacturing with some supply difficulties at the Togliatti and Izhevsk plants, mainly for electronic components, and this week it will be temporarily closed. Of course, the effects of the sanctions are not so intense for the Lada brand due to its high level of location of components and raw materials.
Unlike the Moscow factory, the Togliattigrado one is not entirely owned by Renault, but rather a half-owned company. Founded in 1966, it is the jewel in the crown of AvtoVAZ and has a gigantic production capacity, 650,000 units per year, although it is far from its peak.
In this complex the Lada XRAY, Largus, Granta, Niva Legend and Travel are manufactured, in addition to the Renault Logan and Sandero. In addition, Renault’s Lada and HR16 engines are manufactured, as well as three gearboxes. In 2020 the Datsun Mi-DO and On-DO were also built there.
One more time, Renault is in a geopolitically uncomfortable country, like some nations of the African Maghreb or Iran, another country that had to leave due to other types of international sanctions. For Renault, expanding outside its comfort zone, Europe, has come with its risks.