- Hyundai sold its Russian factory for $97 with a 2-year buyback clause.
- The buyback window closes in January, and Hyundai hasn’t acted yet.
- A Russian firm now builds rebadged Hyundai and Kia cars at the site.
Hyundai once held a solid foothold in Russia, but those days may not be coming back anytime soon. Earlier this year, reports emerged that the company was considering buying back its former factory in St. Petersburg. Now, new developments suggest that the plan has little chance of moving forward, as the automaker isn’t in a position to restart operations while the war in Ukraine continues.
Read: Chinese Automakers Move Into Russian Plants Abandoned By The West
Hyundai suspended activity at its St. Petersburg plant in March 2022, and eventually sold the facility in 2024 for a nominal fee of 140,000 won, or about $97 at current exchange rates. Despite the minimal sale price, the deal included a buyback clause allowing Hyundai to reacquire the factory within two years. That window closes in January.
Buyback Clock Is Ticking
An unnamed company source told Reuters that “it is not a situation where we can buy back the shares.” A Hyundai spokesperson confirmed the company has not yet made a final decision regarding the buyback clause. It remains uncertain whether Hyundai could request an extension of that option, though if reentry becomes a realistic prospect, the company would likely want to keep the door open.
Before the invasion of Ukraine, Hyundai and its affiliate Kia were major players in the Russian market. At one point, they held a significant 23.3 percent share of all new car sales, and in 2021 alone, they sold 354,000 vehicles in the country. When Hyundai opted to offload its Russian assets, it disclosed that the sale would result in a 287 billion won ($200 million) financial hit.
Hyundai’s former Russian plant, now owned by AGR Automotive, is currently building models under the Solaris brand. The vehicles are effectively rebadged versions of earlier Kia and Hyundai cars that were once sold locally, including the Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Creta, and the Kia K2 Cross.
Chinese automakers have emerged as the clear beneficiaries of major Western brands exiting Russia. In 2024, they sold around 1 million new vehicles in the country, out of a total of 1.57 million.
