How Citroen cars leave the Russian factory without the agreement of the Stellantis group

Under the international sanctions taken by the EU immediately after the start of the war and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to weaken Moscow’s economy, large car groups have withdrawn from Russia. More or less good. If Renault resold its assets, Stellantis could not do the same with its Kaluga plant after the announcement of the suspension of production on April 19, 2022.

How is this possible?

Today, on the citroen.ru website, Citroen C5 Aircross SUVs are available for sale. Made in Russia. The investigation shows that the Stellantis group did not know and admitted to “losing control” of its entities in Russia.

According to Reuters, which disclosed the matter in February, the company whose boss is close to the Kremlin, Automotive Technologies, imported at least “42 sets of cars for the assembly of the C5 Aircross model at the Kaluga plant according to the collected customs records from a commercial data provider.”

This company, which gave Russian journalists a tour of its factory, announced in March the meeting of Citroën C5 Aircross. How? From “1,700 parts imported into Russia… The bodies arrive by train already welded and painted in Kaluga. The workers collect all the items and the car becomes officially Russian.

Chinese cooperation

These popular devices come directly from China, revealed Reuters. Manufacturer Dongfeng Motor. Ironically, it was also Stellantis’ partner in the Chinese market for Peugeot and Citroën and a shareholder of the Stellantis group.

China, Russia’s ally, does not use international economic sanctions. Dongfeng Motor Company is in the process of selling its shares in Stellantis and repurchasing factories that were jointly owned by the French group.