​A few months after Renault completely left the Russian market, it was the turn of the “colleague” in the Nissan alliance to take this step in a similar way. Last year, the Nissan brand sold 51,000 new cars in Russia, taking 9th place in the ranking of car brands, led by Lada, Kia and Hyundai. Qashqai and X-Trail became the sales leaders.

Nissan estimates it will lose nearly $700 million through the move, with operations being sold to NAMI, Russia’s best-known and oldest research institute.

• Renault and Russia have a very complicated relationship

Nissan sold the Russian units for one euro, and the contract stipulates that after a maximum of six years it will have the right to buy back its business.

Nissan had production and research facilities in St. Petersburg, as well as a marketing and sales center in Moscow. Production was stopped for several months.

The alliance between Nissan and Renault is at an important stage, and there are talks of big changes in the future, including the possibility of Nissan investing in Renault’s new electric car division.

Renault also sold its stake in NAMI in the spring after intense international pressure.

NAMI is the first automotive research institute, founded in Russia in 1918 after the Bolshevik Revolution. In 1927, he created the first fully developed car in the USSR called NAMI-1.

In 2013, WE were given an important task: to develop a new presidential luxury car to replace the Mercedes-Benz S 600 Pullman Guard used by Putin. The result was a brand called Aurus, with models named mainly after the various towers of the Kremlin: Senate, Arsenal and Commandant. The Aurus brand also participated in the 2019 Geneva Motor Show.

Sources: Automotive News, Reuters