Nissan Sold the Russian Portion of the Company for Less Than $1
Nissan sold its Russian operations to NAMI, a Russian government owned corporation, for less than $1.
Written by Alexandra Maloney
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Russian government company NAMI recently got a pretty sweet automotive deal from
Nissan
. On Oct. 12, 2022, Nissan announced it had sold its Russian operations to NAMI for just €1, or about $0.96. While the sale might not appear to make much sense at first look, diving in deeper proves the Russian
deal could actually be a smart move for Nissan. What was the Nissan deal?
Nissan sold the Russian portion of the company to NAMI, an automotive and engine research and development company run by the Russian government, for €1. In dollars, one euro equates to about 96 cents, which means Nissan’s Russian operations were sold for less than one dollar.
The sale moves all shares of Nissan Manufacturing Russia to the NAMI corporation. According to
Forbes
, Nissan Manufacturing Russia sold 53,000 vehicles to Russians in 2021. The deal also gives NAMI a fully functioning Nissan factory in St. Petersburg, and a Nissan sales and marketing operation in Moscow. The deal will force Nissan to report $687 million in losses for the year.
Why did Nissan agree to sell for so cheap?
Although the deal might seem unconventional, there’s a reason Nissan agreed to sell their Russian operations for less than a dollar. Forbes reports that Nissan hasn’t been able to source enough parts to build cars in Russia since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March 2022.
Nissan admitted in a press statement that there were no obvious signs or visibility into the Russian environment changing anytime soon, which means there’s no clear path to Nissan being able to source car parts at the rates they were before.
MORE: Is a Nissan Hybrid Worth It?
Could this actually be a good deal for Nissan?
One important condition of Nissan’s deal with Russian government owned corporation NAMI, is that Nissan has the right to buy back their Russian operations. The buy back of Russian operations can happen anytime within the next six years.
This window of opportunity allows Nissan to monitor and evaluate the environment in Russia, and buy back their Russian operations when they decide it makes the most sense for the company. In the meantime, Nissan avoids supply chain issues and other problems the brand might face as they manufacture cars in Russia in the current climate.
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