Renault is suspending some of its Russian operations indefinitely and is preparing to walk away from its investment in Lada maker AvtoVaz, in a significant shift for the biggest foreign carmaker remaining in the country after rivals had retreated.
The French carmaker said late on Wednesday it could take a hit on the value of its operations in Russia in its half-year results and said it was “examining options” for its holding in AvtoVaz, Russia’s largest car producer.
The French group had been in the spotlight over its continued presence in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine and had faced calls for a boycott from Ukrainian politicians. It joins several French companies, including oil and gas major TotalEnergies and banks BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole, in stepping up measures to cut ties with Russia in recent days, several weeks after other international peers in those sectors pulled back.