Mercedes-Benz Group has sold its remaining 15% stake in Russian commercial vehicle maker Kamaz. A spokesperson for the carmaker said that the necessary regulatory approvals had been granted and contractual agreements implemented.
The withdrawal from the agreement makes Mercedes-Benz the latest western carmaker to cut all ties to Russia. Daimler took the 15% in Kamaz from Daimler Truck in September 2021 shortly before it was renamed Mercedes-Benz Group and the Daimler Truck division was spun off as part of the Project Focus reorganisation.
Daimler Kamaz Rus set up a plant in Naberezhnye Chelny in 2010 assembling trucks from complete knockdown (CKD) kits shipped in containers from the Mercedes-Benz Trucks plant in Wörth, Germany, though later the truck cabins were made locally after a €200m ($215m) investment in a new cabin facility and the localisation of more than 150 components.
According to Reuters, the Kamaz stake ended up being split between Mercedes-Benz and Daimler Truck following the spinoff of the latter, through Daimler Truck had to write off €200m of assets in its May 2022 filing.
Mercedes-Benz would not reveal the buyer of its Kamaz stake or how much it sold it for, only stating it had decided on the company in a structured sales process. Rostec and Avtoinvest are the two other major shareholders.
Daimler Truck suspended operations with Kamaz in February 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mercedes-Benz announced its withdrawal from the Russian market in late 2022. It sold shares in its industrial and financial services division in February 2023 to former car dealer Avtodom.
Since then, Kamaz, like other Russian vehicle makers, has continued to run operations in the face of components shortages. The truckmaker is facing sanctions from the EU and US.
No comments yet