Former Renault Russia plant to produce Muskvich vehicles

A famous Soviet-era nameplate may return.

Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has seen multinational companies from McDonald’s to Renault withdraw from the Russian market.

The late departure of the latter has opened the door to return Muskvich Brand

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in his blog that the nationalized Renault plant would be rebuilt to make Moscowvich-brand cars.

“The foreign owner has decided to close the Moscow Renault plant. We have the right to do that, but we cannot allow thousands of workers to go without work, “said Sobyanin in a translated commentary.

“In 2022, we will open a new page in the history of Moscow.”

The goal, the mayor said, is to have most of the team remaining at the plant, which will initially build combustion-engine-powered vehicles. Later, it will start production of electric vehicles.

Moscow city, truck and bus manufacturer Kamaz and the Ministry of Industry and Trade will work together to localize the production of automotive components in Russia.

It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.

The Renault Group has sold its 67.69 percent stake in Lado’s parent company AvtoVAZ to the Russian Central Research and Development Automobile and Engine Institute (NAMI), and Renault Russia’s Renault Group shares have been sold to a Moscow City entity.

There is a clause in the agreement that would allow the group to buy back Russia at a few points over the next six years.

The Renault Group said in a statement: “The termination of this transaction is not subject to any conditions and all necessary approvals have been obtained.

Although some automakers, including Volkswagen, Toyota and Ford, stopped production and most of their work in Russia after invading Ukraine in February, Renault was more cautious in its approach.

It even resumed production in late March, only to retreat a day later.

At the time, Lada said it was trying to replace “some important imported components with alternative solutions” and was working on special versions of its vehicles “with less exposure to imported components”.

Although it did not export vehicles like the Ladder to Australia, previous Muskwich concerns exported vehicles to Europe.

It was one of the few automakers in the Soviet Union. Other well-known concerns include: AvtoVAZ, which made Lada cars and survives today; GAZ, which made the big Volga sedan; And the GL, which produced large sedans and limousines for Soviet officials.

The name is also spelled Moskvich, meaning “Moscow native”, although the company was founded in 1930 as KIM.

Its first vehicle was the KIM-10, the first passenger car designed in Russia. Production was suspended due to World War II, and after the war ended, the company began production of the Opel Cadet-inspired Muskvich-400 in 1946.

The next two generations of Muskvich were conservative, rear-wheel drive compact cars, although in 1986, the brand introduced its first front-wheel drive model, the Aleco.

It was heavily inspired by Simca 1307 / Chrysler Alpine which was published a decade ago.

The company suffered losses after the collapse of the Soviet Union, not only because the market was open to more desirable imports but also because of its own financial problems.

Aleco’s production ended in 1997, although the seemingly higher market sedan and coupe versions under the 2142 banner carried the torch for the Moskvich brand until it was dropped in 2001.

The company was declared bankrupt in 2006 and was canceled the following year.

More: Renault AvtoVAZ Confirms Sales