Hyundai Motor finally abandons its plant in Russia

Hyundai Motor did not exercise its option to repurchase its plant in St. Petersburg, TASS reports, citing the company«s press service. The factory in the Kamenka district was sold to the Russian firm Art-Finans (AGR Holding) in early 2024, but the South Korean side retained the right to return to Russia within two years. The refusal to do so means the plant will be repurposed to produce cars of another brand, most likely Chinese.

After acquiring the plant, AGR Holding managed to restart it by assembling cars from the remaining 70,000 vehicle kits. The lineup consisted of the same quartet of models that were previously called the Hyundai Solaris, Creta, Kia Rio, and Rio X, with only the word Solaris turned into a separate brand. However, the vehicle kits ran out; for example, production of the Solaris HS sedan ceased about a year ago. Continued assembly would have been possible either if the South Korean side repurchased the plant or if it agreed to further supply components, but neither happened.

The search for new partners has been underway for several months. The plant owner, AGR Holding, has produced a trial batch of Jaecoo cars there, and among potential partners, the GAC brand has been mentioned.

The Hyundai plant was launched in 2010 and was one of the most automated and largest car assembly enterprises in Russia. In its best years, it produced over 200,000 cars per year, but in 2025, output was only 35,000. The plant remained the only car factory in Russia that did not stop production of a departed brand, and for Hyundai it was a valuable asset that allowed a return to the country without capital investment. According to South Korean sources, Hyundai continues to explore the possibility of returning to Russia, but it is being held back by the situation in Ukraine. It is obvious that with the loss of the plant, a return looks even less likely, since direct import of cars is complicated by high recycling fees.

The main project of AGR Holding is the production of «Tenet» cars (the Chery Tiggo family) at the former Volkswagen plant in Kaluga. The holding also owns another Hyundai plant in St. Petersburg, in Shushary, which previously belonged to GM: it plans to launch production of Chery sub-brands Omoda and Jaecoo there.