Renault’s Moscow plant will probably be repurposed to provide Moskvich vehicles that had been final manufactured 20 years in the past.

A Soviet-era automotive model the “Moskvich” might make a shock comeback in Russia, as Moscow takes over belongings belonging to Renault following the French automaker’s exit from the nation.

Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin mentioned he would nationalize Renault’s automotive manufacturing facility within the metropolis, after the Western automaker mentioned it was promoting its native enterprise following the beginning of the battle in Ukraine.

The plant, which Sobyanin mentioned had a “lengthy and wonderful historical past”, will probably be repurposed to provide the Moskvich model of passenger vehicles.

“The international proprietor has determined to shut the Moscow Renault plant. It has the proper to do that, however we can not enable 1000’s of staff to be left with out work”, Sobyanin mentioned on his weblog. “In 2022, we’ll open a brand new web page within the historical past of the Moskvich.”

The Moskvich, which implies “a local of Moscow”, was first manufactured within the Soviet Union and designed to be a sturdy, reasonably priced passenger automotive, that includes components made in Russia and communist East Germany.

Following the Soviet Union’s collapse, the automaker was privatized and later was declared bankrupt.

There are virtually 200,000 Moskvich vehicles nonetheless registered in Russia, together with 46,000 which might be greater than 35 years outdated, in accordance with the Autostat analytical company.

For Sobyanin, who referred to as the automotive “legendary”, the return of the Moskvich might show virtually tough, Autostat head Sergei Tselikov mentioned.

“It takes no less than two years and no less than $1 billion to develop a brand new automotive,” Tselikov mentioned when requested about plans to revive the Soviet-era model.

Sobyanin mentioned the revived Moscow plant would initially make standard vehicles with combustion engines however would produce electrical vehicles sooner or later.

He mentioned he was working with Russia’s commerce ministry to supply as many automotive parts as doable from Russia, and that Russian truckmaker Kamaz would act because the plant’s essential technological accomplice.

In an announcement, Kamaz mentioned that whereas it supported the mayor’s choice, points concerning technological cooperation had been nonetheless underneath dialogue and it will make an official assertion as soon as these points had been resolved.