Automakers fled Russia, so the country is reviving a 'legendary' Soviet-era car brand

Western businesses are leaving Russia in the wake of the war on Ukraine.

The mass exodus includes a deal between the city of Moscow and a state-backed group to sell all of the operations of the French car maker, Renault. Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said in a post that the city would use the Moscow plant to revive a Soviet-era car brand called Moskvich.

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Sobyanin said the plant has a long and glorious history and that Russia will bring it back with the help of Kamaz, a Russian manufacturer of heavy-duty vehicles and engines. He said that he would first sell traditional combustion-engine cars and later electric ones.

The name Moskvich means "Moscovite".

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The Russian operations of the French company were sold for pennies on the dollar or rubles on the euro. The Financial Times reported that the businesses were sold for 2 rubles. The transaction will cost the company 2.2 billion euro.

Cars and car parts are included in Russia's isolation from global trade. The Russian government would work with Sobyanin to make auto parts in Russia. According to two sources, the new Moskvich cars will use a Chinese platform.

Soviet-era cars were known for their poor quality and reliability outside the country. The Yugo, a Yugoslavian compact that was briefly sold in the US starting in the 1980s, became the butt of many jokes. What is the name of the Yugo at the top of the hill? A miracle.