Authorities in Russia will decide what the future holds for Renault’s factory in Moscow by the end of week, shortly after the French automaker announced that it was suspending operations at the site.
The factory operated by the French automaker produces the Renault Duster, Kaptur, Arkana, and Nissan Terrano and the Russian government has previously indicated that it could nationalize assets of foreign companies that leave the country.
“The Ministry of Industry and Trade will discuss the prospects of developing the Renault Russia factory with the Moscow government,” the Kremlin said. “The joint solutions will be announced by the end of next week. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is in constant contact with Avtovaz and Renault Group management.”
Read More: Renault Suspends Russian Manufacturing Just Days After Reopening Moscow Plant
Renault briefly resumed operations at its Moscow plant on Monday having paused production there in late February. However, just a couple of days later, the carmaker appeared to bow to outside pressure and said it was halting operations at the Autoframos manufacturing plant.
Based on the Kremlin’s statements, it doesn’t appear as though it will make any attempt to try and convince Renault to restart production and will simply use the facility for its own purposes.
Renault also holds a 67.61 per cent majority stake in Lada Auto Holding that operates Russia’s largest automaker AutoVAZ. Production at AutoVAZ’s plants in Togliatti and Izhevsk were partially halted this week due to shortages of electronic parts. The Russian industry ministry is working to return the sites to normal operations and will create component stocks to make it happen, Reuters reports.