Volvo's Russian assets transferred to Russian investor - industry ministry

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Swedish truck maker Volvo AB's Russian assets have been transferred to an undisclosed Russian investor, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a statement.

Volvo suspended all sales, service and production in Russia in February 2022, and said last October that further write-downs might be necessary. In 2021, Russia accounted for about 3% of its net group sales of about 372 billion Swedish crowns ($33.4 billion).

The ministry said that, together with the new owner, it had "also identified a domestic partner for the further development of production at the concern's Kaluga site, and work continues to restart it as soon as possible".

It did not identify the new owner or the domestic partner, but Russia's state register of legal entities said Volvo's assets including the Kaluga plant were under the operational control of businessman Igor Kim.

It said Kim's business partner in auto retail, Alexei Sannikov, would head the Kaluga factory, which has a capacity of about 15,000 trucks a year. Kim did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Volvo is one of many Western firms to give up subsidiaries and factories in Russia, usually at a heavily discounted or token prices, because doing business became impossible after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, which it calls a "special military operation".

The invasion triggered a host of Western economic sanctions, and threats by Russia to seize Western businesses based there.

In particular, Volvo joins carmakers Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, Renault, BMW, Kia and Hyundai in pulling out of manufacturing in Russia, while some of the factories have been retooled to produce the Chinese vehicles filling the market vacuum left by the departing Western firms.

($1 = 11.1411 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey and David Evans)