Renault Agrees to Sell Its Stake in a Russian Automaker
Liz Alderman
The French company will sell its stake in Russia’s largest automaker for one ruble, with the option of returning within six years.
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PARIS — The French automaker Renault announced Monday that it was exiting Russia in a deal negotiated with the Russian government that would allow Renault the option of resuming business in the country at a future date.

Under the agreement, Renault will sell its 68 percent stake in AvtoVAZ, Russia’s biggest carmaker, to a Moscow-based automotive research institute known as NAMI. Renault did not disclose the price, but a person with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not made public, said the automaker was paid the symbolic sum of 1 ruble.

NAMI would continue to operate AvtoVAZ’s two sprawling auto factories and pay its employees. Renault could then repurchase the stake within six years, Renault said in announcing the deal.

“Today, we have taken a difficult but necessary decision, and we are making a responsible choice towards our 45,000 employees in Russia,” said the French automaker’s chief executive, Luca de Meo.

Renault did not immediately disclose how much it is receiving for the stake. The company said it would take a 2.2 billion euro ($2.3 billion) financial hit in the first half of the year because of the sale, and has sharply lowered its financial outlook for 2022.

Russia’s deal with Renault offers a window into how the Kremlin is trying to create openings for Western companies to return to doing business there whenever the dust settles from President Vladimir V. Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.

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