German luxury cars once dominated the Russian premium market with more than 100,000 vehicles sold each year. Each brand has a different definition of “exit” almost three years after they condemned Russia’s invasion and promised to leave.
In February 2022 as Russia invaded Ukraine hundreds of Western companies announced their intention to leave the Russian market. Three years later, with the war still going on, the Kyiv School of Economics reported that only 440 of the 4,000 foreign companies that were operating in Russia prior to the invasion have completely withdrawn.
Mercedes, BMW and Audi, Germany’s Big Three luxury automobile manufacturers, announced their departure from Russia. The wealthy Russians’ appetite to buy premium German cars has long been a profitable operation. Let’s examine the promises made by these companies and what they actually delivered, despite EU sanctions explicitly prohibiting luxury car exports into Russia.
MERCEDES
Mercedes-Benz estimated that its assets in Russia would be EUR2 billion by the end of 2021. The Mercedes plant in Moscow began production in 2019 and employed 1,000 workers. Mercedes-Benz had a 2.6% market share in Russia at the end of 2021. It sold 43,000 cars.
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