(Updated with details, quote)
PARIS, March 10 (Reuters) – Renault’s recovery will not be jeopardized by the crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the president of the automotive group said on Thursday.
“Renault’s recovery is well underway, it’s a long-term strategy (..) which goes well beyond the current situation in Russia,” Jean-Dominique Senard told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference. by the engineering school of Mines ParisTech.
Among car manufacturers, the French group is the most exposed to the Russian market. During this conference on the challenges of a less global world for companies, Jean-Dominique Senard refused to say more about the options available to him in Russia.
The credit rating agency Fitch Ratings estimated on Tuesday that the international crisis with Russia, from which Renault drew around 12% of its operating profit last year, risked hampering the achievement of the objectives of the “Renaulution” plan.
Renault-controlled Russian carmaker Avtovaz is set to partially reopen two sites next week, after several days of suspension amid supply issues related to the war in Ukraine and the semiconductor crisis. The activity of the Renault factory in Moscow must remain temporarily suspended until March 18. (Gilles Guillaume report, edited by Matthieu Protard and Bertrand Boucey)