Europe’s largest carmaker leaving Russia – media

The world’s second largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen Group, has reportedly decided to sell its business in Russia and is actively looking for a buyer, two major Russian media outlets, Vedomosti and Gazeta.ru, reported on Wednesday.

Kazakhstan’s Asia Avto has been cited as a potential buyer of the carmaker’s only plant in Russia. According to Gazeta.ru, the factory in the city of Kaluga in Central Russia was also visited by a delegation from Austria. Asia Avto has a license to produce Volkswagen and Skoda cars, Vedomosti writes, adding that Volkswagen is expecting to decide on the sale by the end of this year.

The German automaker suspended production in Kaluga in early March due to disruptions in logistics chains amid international sanctions against Russia. The import of cars and spare parts to Russia was also stopped. The company also suspended vehicle assembly at a Nizhny Novgorod plant belonging to a Russian commercial vehicles manufacturer.

At the end of May, Volkswagen announced that it would not resume car production in Russia in the near future.

The factory in Kaluga has a maximum production capacity of 225,000 vehicles per year and produced Volkswagen Tiguan, Volkswagen Polo, and Škoda Rapid cars.

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