Renault CEO – decision on Russian operations to come in weeks

By Nick Carey and Gilles Guillaume

LONDON (Reuters) -Renault’s top executive said on Monday that the carmaker will decide in the coming weeks on the future of its operations in Russia, where it suspended operations in late March following the invasion of Ukraine.

“Negotiations are still ongoing,” Chief Executive Luca de Meo said at the FT Future of the Car 2022 conference, adding that leaving Russia entirely involves writing down the value of its assets. “But we also know that we’ve been working for 10 years investing a lot of money there so we are also here to protect our assets and what we’ve done.”

In late April, Russia said Renault would transfer its 68% stake in Russia’s biggest carmaker Avtovaz to an auto research institute for one symbolic rouble. [nL2N2WO310]

De Meo also said that Renault is also currently working on 10 to 15 projects with its Japanese alliance partner Nissan that will demonstrate why it “makes senses for us to stay together.”

He added that the “door is open” for the Japanese carmaker to follow the French carmaker’s plans to split its electric vehicle unit from its internal combustion engine business.

(Reporting by Nick Carey; editing by David Evans and Nick Zieminski)