Hyundai is said to be edging closer towards selling its factories in Russia and officially leaving the country in response to its invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war there.
The car manufacturer suspended operations in Russia last year and since then, has been pondering different ways to exit the market. South Korean TV network MBC asserts that Hyundai is in the final stages of negotiations to sell its factories and is simply waiting for final approval from the Russian government.
While speaking with Reuters late last week, Hyundai noted that it is reviewing various options for the future of its Russian business but said no decision has been made at this stage.
Read: Russian Car Sales Plunged Nearly 60% Last Year
“It is true that there are ongoing discussions regarding the sale, but nothing has been decided,” Hyundai said.
Hyundai has in the past produced about 200,000 vehicles per year in Russia and the nation’s invasion of Ukraine came at a particularly inopportune moment for the carmaker. Indeed, it only purchased a decommissioned General Motors factory in St Petersburg in December 2020, barely 12 months before the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian war in February 2022.
In 2019, Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 400,000 vehicles in Russia.
The Russian car industry has been crippled since the invasion. Indeed, figures released earlier this year revealed that new car sales plummeted by 58.8% last year in the midst of the war and the resulting sanctions and export controls that were imposed on the country. A total of 687,370 vehicles were sold in Russia last year, significantly fewer than the 1.6 million that were delivered in 2021.
Sales are expected to improve in 2023 with the Association of European Businesses indicating that retail sales could climb by 12% to approximately 770,000 vehicles.