Russian state agency may acquire Toyota factory in St.Petersburg

Toyota may transfer its Russian auto plant in St. Petersburg to the Russian state as represented by FSUE NAMI, a state research centre under the Industry and Trade Ministry, Deputy Prime Minister and Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on March 16.

He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP).

"The transfer of Toyota’s Russian assets to NAMI is being worked out," he was quoted as saying by TASS.

As the Industry and Trade Ministry reported in December 2022, the plant in St. Petersburg, which had previously suspended operations, was being mothballed. The ministry noted that, together with the St. Petersburg city administration, they are working on potential options for developing the production site.

In September 2022, Toyota Motor Corporation announced its decision to close its assembly plant in St. Petersburg. In mid-November, the plant began laying off employees, who had numbered over 1,900 at that point.

The automaker's plant was designed to produce 100,000 cars a year. It was commissioned in late 2007 to produce the RAV4 and Camry makes and models under a special investment contract with Russia’s Industry and Trade Ministry. Operations at the plant have been suspended since March 2022 due to supply chain gaps.