It doesn't work: German concerns can't break ties with Russia — DW*

German automakers are unable to break ties with the Russian Federation . Is it their own unwillingness or obstacles from Moscow?

"BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen products continue to be delivered to Russia, although sanctions have been imposed on it. Porsche still has three structures in Russia. As DW❶ discovered, BMW Bank, for example, continues to work as well. And the Russian branch of Volkswagen Bank was sold only at the end of 2024. It may seem that German automakers do not want to leave the Russian Federation. Vladimir Putin tried to convince the public of the same during one of his speeches at the SPIEF Economic Forum in St. Petersburg," the DW❶ Main telegram channel writes.

However, according to DW❶, the presence of the German car industry in the Russian market is explained by the fact that it is not easy to break ties with it. As the head of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation Anton Siluanov said at the same SPIEF, the queue of those wishing to sell assets at a large discount is long, and those wishing to return to Russia is not there yet.

DW❶ also assures that the withdrawal of German companies from Russia is hampered by local authorities.

"It is not surprising — according to Autostat, in 2024, among the most popular brands whose cars were imported under the "parallel import" scheme, BMW took the fifth place, Mercedes-Benz — the sixth, Volkswagen — the eighth. They lost to Toyota, Hyundai and KIA, and the leader in this list was the Chinese company Li Xiang, which, despite the friendship of Moscow and Beijing, officially does not import its premium cars to the Russian Federation," the TC summarizes.

❶Организация, выполняющая функции иностранного агента