Ford left the Russian market

The American company Ford has sold its stake (49%) in the joint venture with Sollers Auto. The shares will be transferred to the JV at par value, and Ford, in turn, retains the right to buy its stake for five years. This deal follows the complete suspension of all Ford operations in Russia, including production, parts supply, IT and engineering support, in March of this year, Autonews.ru writes. Recall that in 2019, Ford left the passenger car market with the consecutive closure of two Sollers Ford car plants in Naberezhnye Chelny and Vsevolozhsk.

As a result, the joint venture focused on the LCV segment, continuing the production of Ford Transit light commercial vehicles at the plant in the Alabuga SEZ. Meanwhile, on this site, Sollers plans to launch the production of a new LCV line under its own brand by the end of 2022. The enterprise will launch the production of two models of cabover and semi-bonnet LCVs with GVW from 2.5 to 4.5 tons. According to Vedomosti sources, it is JAC Sunray, which will replace the Ford Transit, and the light frame truck N25 / N35, which is an analogue of the Hyundai Porter. The design capacity of the plant is 85 thousand vehicles per a year.