<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Nissan has agreed to sell its Russian business unit to the state-owned automotive institute NAMI for a token sum of €1, the Japanese car maker&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/IR/TSE/2022/ASSETS/PDF/20221011_Russian_market_exit_e.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday, becoming the latest global automaker to exit Russia amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://global.nissannews.com/en/releases/221011-01-e#press-release" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">press release</a>, the automaker said the sale includes the entirety of Nissan Manufacturing Russia—including its local manufacturing and R&amp;D facilities in Saint Petersburg and its Sales and Marketing unit in Moscow—which will now operate under a new name.



Nissan said it expects to register a one-time loss of 100 billion yen ($687 million) due to the exit.



The deal is expected to be completed over the next few weeks and includes a clause that would allow Nissan to buy back the Russian unit within the next six years.



Nissan had previously&nbsp;<a href="https://global.nissannews.com/en/releases/release-4454c7eb99daae98b9a1ec98f118161d-220307-00-e" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suspended</a>&nbsp;manufacturing and imports into Russia in March.



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/IR/TSE/2022/ASSETS/PDF/20221011_Russian_market_exit_e.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">notice</a>&nbsp;sent out to shareholders, the carmaker said it had been “monitoring the situation closely” but saw no “visibility of external environment changing” in Russia, forcing it to announce its exit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Nissan is the latest global automaker to exit the Russian market this year after the country was hit by a bevy of international sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine. Renault—which is a cross-shareholder in Nissan—fully exited Russia back in May after selling its majority stake in Russian carmaker Avtovaz to NAMI. Last month, Toyota&nbsp;<a href="https://global.toyota/en/newsroom/corporate/38043074.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;it was ending all vehicle production at its plant in Saint Petersburg. Despite this, Toyota said it will continue to provide servicing and repairs for vehicles already sold to customers in Russia. In March, Volkswagen&nbsp;<a href="https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/2022/03/volkswagen-stops-production-of-vehicles-in-russia-and-suspends-e.html#:~:text=2022%2D03%2D03-,Volkswagen%20stops%20production%20of%20vehicles%20in%20Russia%20and%20suspends%20export,and%20a%20return%20to%20diplomacy." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;it was suspending operations at its two Russian factories and halting all imports into the country. A few months, later&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;Russia&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.ru/biznes/472811-volkswagen-group-nacala-gotovit-sa-k-prodaze-zavoda-v-kaluge" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;that the German automaker may be planning to fully exit the country by selling its local manufacturing plants. Other major automakers like Mercedes-Benz and General Motors have also suspended imports and manufacturing in Russia.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h2>



Besides automakers many other large multinationals have either&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/03/16/verizon-pfizer-deutsche-bank-here-are-the-companies-cutting-ties-with-russia-over-ukraine-invasion/?sh=54c94cfe41af">halted their operations</a>&nbsp;or fully exited the Russian market. Last month, Pepsi&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/09/20/pepsi-reportedly-stops-manufacturing-sodas-in-russia-joining-global-food-giants-leaving-amid-ukraine-invasion/?sh=85d5d6c15a84">announced</a>&nbsp;it had stopped manufacturing several of its popular soda brands after its local bottlers exhausted their entire remaining supply of flavor concentrates. Pepsi’s chief rival Coca-Cola also stopped manufacturing its soda brands in Russia in August. Several other major food brands like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/05/23/starbucks-will-exit-russia-close-130-cafes/?sh=4291c797295b">Starbucks</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/05/16/mcdonalds-says-its-exiting-russia-after-more-than-30-years/?sh=71b1c0c232ad">McDonald’s</a>&nbsp;have also exited the country. Major apparel and fashion giants like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/06/23/nike-is-reportedly-the-latest-global-brand-to-exit-russia-completely/?sh=69e6f77e3ee0">Nike</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/07/18/hm-fully-exits-russia-as-it-joins-global-brands-like-nike-mcdonalds/?sh=58dde31759ef">H&amp;M</a>&nbsp;have also fully exited the country in recent months.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/japanese-automaker-nissan-sells-off-russian-business-state-trade-ministry-says-2022-10-11/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nissan takes $687 mln loss as sells Russian business for 1 euro</a>&nbsp;(Reuters)



<a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Ukraine-war/Toyota-to-exit-Russia-terminating-auto-production-and-sales" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Toyota to exit Russia, terminating auto production and sales</a>&nbsp;(Nikkei Asia)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CONFLICT-JAPAN-NISSAN

Nissan Sells Its Russian Business For €1 As It Joins Other Multinational Giants Leaving Amid War

Volkswagen Group has held on to its position as the world’s top-selling automaker for the fifth year in a row, although the German group was edged out again by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance in the light-duty vehicles segment.



Renault SA, Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Mitsubishi Motors Corp together sold 10.76 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in 2018, according to Reuters’ calculations after new data released on Wednesday. The group doesn’t sell heavy trucks.



Nissan said on Wednesday it sold 5.65 million vehicles last year, down 2.8 percent on the year. Mitsubishi reported an 18 percent rise in sales to 1.22 million units while Renault sold 3.88 million units, up 3.2 percent on the year.



Volkswagen’s deliveries rose 0.9 percent to a record 10.83 million last year, including its MAN and Scania heavy trucks, the German company said earlier this month. Excluding heavy trucks, it sold 10.6 million units.



Toyota Motor Corp retained its third spot, announcing on Wednesday that it had sold 10.59 million vehicles last year including its Toyota and Lexus brands, along with minicars made by subsidiary Daihatsu and light and heavy trucks produced by its truck division Hino Motors Ltd.



Excluding Hino trucks, Toyota sold 10.39 million units last year. The automaker has said it expects to sell a total of 10.76 million vehicles in 2019.



Many automakers are trying to boost sales volumes to achieve economies of scale and reduce costs amid soaring investments needed to develop next-generation technologies, including self-driving cars and electric vehicles.



This has been a focus of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors group, which is looking to share more vehicle parts and consolidate production platforms to trim R&amp;D and manufacturing costs, while raising profitability.



The alliance, which brought Mitsubishi Motors into its fold in 2016, is currently in crisis with its former Chairman Carlos Ghosn arrested and indicted on charges of misconduct. Nissan has also been indicted, and Renault appointed new top management last week. -Reuters



&#8211;Naomi Tajitsu

Tag: nissan

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Nissan Sells Its Russian Business For €1 As It Joins Other Multinational Giants Leaving Amid War

Renault-Nissan Group Sold Most Cars Last Year, but VW’s No.1 Including Trucks