STORY: ::2015
Hyundai is not in a position to repurchase its former manufacturing plant in Russia due to the continuing war in Ukraine, a source familiar with the matter has said.
The South Korean carmaker sold the St Petersburg factory - one of Russia's largest foreign-owned car plants - in 2024.
Operations at the facility had been suspended since March 2022, a month after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The deal saw Hyundai sell 100% of the facility to Russia's AGR Automotive Group for a symbolic 140,000 won - or $97 in 2024.
It included a two-year buyback option, and that clause expires in January.
Hyundai told Reuters in a statement that a final decision has not yet been made on the buyback option.
AGR Automotive Group did not respond to a request for comment.
Though the source did not elaborate on the specific reasons the company could not act on the buyback option, they pointed to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Hyundai and affiliate Kia were the biggest foreign players in the Russian car market before the Ukraine war.
Together they sold more than 400,000 cars in 2019, accounting for nearly a quarter of all new car sales and ahead of Russia's largest carmaker Avtovaz.
