The story is over for the blue oval brand in Russia. Ford left vodka country after being the nation’s top automaker about 20 years ago, only to close two factories in 2019 due to heavy losses. Definitely, the coup de grâce was the war with Ukrainewhich shut down all car manufacturing in March of this year, and now formalized the completion of its joint venture with Sollers and the definitive withdrawal from the country today chaired by Putin.
Ford announced that it has completed the sale of its 49 percent stake in Ford Sollers, with its shares being transferred to the joint venture at nominal value. The automaker retains the right to repurchase the shares within a five-year period. in case the global situation changes.
It is so then that Ford no longer has a presence in Russia following the complete suspension of all operations including manufacturing, parts supply, IT and engineering support.
Ford also has no significant operations in Ukraine, but a number of Ukrainian nationals worked for the automaker indirectly. For this reason, Ford says that it “will continue to support them during this time”, materializing this help with a donation of USD 100,000 to the Global Giving Ukraine Relief Fund for humanitarian aid.
Ford manufactured in Russia: Focus, Mondeo, EcoSport, Fiesta and Explorer for the local market until 2019 and the Transit until 2022. The oval brand uses the same methodology as several other brands such as Renault, Nissan, Grupo Stellantis and Toyota, which respond to the package of sanctions imposed by the West. Given this, the Russians are trying to get by by strengthening alliances with Chinese manufacturers and reviving old names from the Soviet era, such as the Moskvich brand.
