With holding company S8 Capital having acquired the assets of Continental AG in Russia, the LLC Continental Kaluga tyre manufacturing facility has been renamed LLC Cordiant Kaluga. The new legal name came into force on 17 August 2023 and the business will in particular be responsible for tyre production at the former Continental plant in Kaluga, some 100 miles southwest of Moscow.
When Continental first discussed setting up a plant in Russia back in 2011, it spoke of an investment of around 220 million euros. According to sources within Russia, the German company may only recover a fraction of this amount when divesting its local operation to S8 Capital. Moscow-based newspaper Kommersant states that the transaction is valued at 7 to 10 billion roubles, or just 80 million to 114 million euros, a figure in line with the “impaired assets of around 87 million euros” that Continental reported in connection with its business activity in Russia on 8 March 2023.
Yesterday German newspaper FAZ named S8 Capital as the likely buyer of Continental’s business in Russia, including its tyre plant in Kaluga. Russian newspaper Kommersant adds further weight to the notion of a transaction involving the holding company.
Without naming its sources, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ) stated yesterday that Continental intends to sell its tyre factory in Kaluga, Russia to holding company S8 Capital. The publication shares that Continental is awaiting the transaction’s approval by Russian authorities. A Continental spokesperson told FAZ that the sale is at an “advanced stage.”
Although war continues to rage in Ukraine, German tyre maker Continental is once again producing in Russia. The reason the company gives for resuming tyre manufacture is duty of care for its Russian workforce.
The conflict in Ukraine has impacted upon operations at Continental’s tyre factory in Kaluga, Russia. A spokesman confirmed to Tyrepress.com that the company has “suspended tyre production intended for export at our plant in Kaluga until further notice.”
Volkswagen AG has stopped the production of vehicles in Russia until further notice. This decision applies to the site in Kaluga, which produced the VW Tiguan, Polo and Škoda Rapid and made 118,000 vehicles last year, as well as Nizhny Novgorod, where it built VW and Škoda models under a contract with GAZ Group. Vehicle exports to Russia have also been stopped with immediate effect.
Five years after production commenced, the Continental tyre factory in Kaluga, Russia has celebrated the production of its 10 millionth tyre. Plant output officially went into eight-digit figures on 11 April and the team in Kaluga marked the occasion with invited guests, including government officials, customers and representatives from the Continental Executive Board.
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