French carmaker Renault to sell Russian operations to Moscow

Renault said it would sell its majority stake in Avtovaz (Alamy/PA)

Russia will take control of French car manufacturer Renault’s operations in the country and resurrect a Soviet-era brand, officials said, marking the first major nationalisation of a foreign business since the war in Ukraine began.

Renault said it would sell its majority stake in Avtovaz, a Russian car company best known for its Lada brand, to a state-run research institute known as NAMI.