Nissan withdraws from the Russian market as it decided to flee over the Ukraine invasion

Nissan Motor Company Ltd. is leaving Russia, and this will mark the end of its business in the country. As the Japanese carmaker pulls out of the country, it will be selling all its assets to the state and is likely to lose $687 million.

Its departure from the Russian market makes Nissan the latest major company to quit due to the invasion of Ukraine that started in February. While it has made the decision to leave, the company said it would protect its roughly 2,000 employees in the country.

As per Fox Business, the automobile manufacturer is bound to lose about $687 million despite selling its assets to the Russian government on Tuesday this week because the deal only cost €1, which flat-out means the administration got it for free. The loss is also due to the forfeited deal for its production plant in St. Petersburg.

Regardless of the loss, Nissan Motor believes this will not have an effect on its earnings forecast for the fiscal year. The company’s decision comes several months after it first halted its business in Russia. In March, it suspended all production activities in its plant in St. Petersburg.

“On behalf of Nissan, I thank our Russian colleagues for their contribution to the business over many years,” Nissan’s president and chief executive officer, Makoto Uchida, said in a press release on Tuesday. “While we cannot continue operating in the market, we have found the best possible solution to support our people.”

In any case, based on the deal for the sale of its assets, Nissan Motor still has a chance to get back its properties within six years. The agreement states that the company can buy it back if it wants to.

Meanwhile, a number of companies already withdrew from the Russian market, and some of them include McDonald’s, Starbucks, Nike, Nestle, Ikea and more. Some of them chose to leave their assets to the Russian government, and this is exactly what Nissan did as well.