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On October 19, local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the four regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhia entered a state of war, and then the Russian-Ukrainian war intensified, and the Russian automobile industry almost stagnated. At the same time, more and more automobile enterprises announced "withdrawal" from the Russian market.

On October 19, foreign media reported that Volkswagen Group said it was considering selling Russian factories, potential buyers or Asia Auto in Kazakhstan. Volkswagen's plant in Kaluga, Russia, was forced to shut down after the escalation of the situation in Russia and Ukraine. The plant is currently on hold. Volkswagen believes that the plant has no hope of resuming production, so it is looking for investors to take over the plant. It is currently considering various options for its future business in Russia, one of which is to sell assets to a third party, but no decision has been made yet. "We have a clear intention to exit the country," said a source close to Volkswagen's supervisory board. As local demand dwindles, it is likely to lead companies to make final decisions.

On March 3 this year, due to the escalation of the situation in Russia and Ukraine, Volkswagen Group issued a statement that Volkswagen's two factories in Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod in Russia stopped production, when Volkswagen Russian factory employees were told to stop production until May 12; at the same time, Volkswagen Group also stopped exporting cars to Russia. At the beginning of April, due to the Russian-Ukrainian war and the interruption of parts supply, Volkswagen Russia's two factories continued to shut down for more than two months. Subsequently, Volkswagen Group Russia News Office said that Volkswagen's factory in Russia resumed work for an unknown period and the factory was temporarily shut down until it received notice of resumption of work. In July, Volkswagen announced the closure of its office in Nizhny Novgorod, but only suspended operations indefinitely and did not indicate that it would leave the Russian market.

According to the official website of Volkswagen Group Rus, Volkswagen Group currently has two factories in Russia, Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod, with a total of 4800 employees, including about 4000 employees in the Kaluga processing plant.

In November 2007, Volkswagen Group Rus began to produce cars at the Kaluga plant, with a maximum annual capacity of 225,000 vehicles, mainly producing Volkswagen brand Tiguan, three-box Polo and Skoda Rapid models, while the plant is also responsible for assembling Audi brand Q7 and Q8 SUV models and producing gasoline engines for various models. In June 2011, Volkswagen Group Rus and GAZ Group signed a contract for the assembly of Volkswagen and Skoda cars at the GAZ plant in Nizhny Novgorod, which belongs to GAZ Group. Since 2011, Volkswagen Group has assembled Taos models and Skoda models, with an annual production capacity of 132,000 vehicles, mainly producing Skoda brand Mingrui, Kodiak and Korok models.

With a total investment of more than 206 billion rubles in Russia, Volkswagen Group is one of the largest foreign investors in the Russian automotive industry. Among them, Volkswagen Group has invested more than 1 billion euros in Kaluga factory, and between 2006 and 2021, Volkswagen Group invested a total of 2.06 billion euros in Russia. If the Kaluga plant is sold, it means that Volkswagen Group will have only one factory in Nizhny Novgorod in Russia, but there are also sources who told German media that "Volkswagen is considering withdrawing completely from the Russian market."

Volkswagen Group Rus produced 170300 new cars in Russia in 2021, including 118000 at its Kaluga plant and 52300 at its Nizhny Novgorod plant, according to its official website. The cumulative sales volume in 2021 is 199,200 vehicles, accounting for 11.9% of the Russian market share.

Under the background of many uncertain factors in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, many automobile enterprises have announced the suspension of supply, sale and production in the Russian market. According to incomplete statistics, many automobile enterprises, including Aston Martin, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, etc., have issued official statements to stop their automobile sales business in Russia for the same reason. In addition, on May 16, French automaker Renault Group announced the Russian market; on September 23, Japanese automaker Toyota announced the end of production at its St. Petersburg plant in northwestern Russia, becoming the first Japanese automaker to announce its withdrawal from the Russian market; On October 12, Nissan also announced its withdrawal from the Russian market, becoming the second Japanese car company to announce its withdrawal from the Russian market. Nissan said its withdrawal from the Russian market would result in a loss of about 100 billion yen. Mazda said it was considering withdrawing from the Russian market and ending its production operations in Russia. Mazda's manufacturing plant in Russia has been shut down, but Mazda has not yet made a final decision on sales and after-sales issues; Mitsubishi's joint venture factory with European carmaker Stellantis in Russia has also been shut down; On Oct.18, South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor said it was considering making a decision on its Russian business, including selling local carmaking plants.

According to statistics, the cumulative sales volume of Russian cars in 2021 increased by 4.3% year-on-year to 1.667 million vehicles. After entering 2022, the monthly sales volume of Russian cars plummeted one after another due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. According to statistics concerned by the automobile industry, Russian cars fell by 62.9%, 78.5%, 82%, 74.9%, 62.4% and 59.6% respectively from March to September 2022, among which, Russia sold 46698 vehicles in September, with cumulative sales falling 59.8% year-on-year to 506661 in the first three quarters. The withdrawal of many car companies from the Russian market will further hit the Russian market. Under this background, if the conflict between Russia and Ukraine cannot be alleviated, the pattern of the Russian car market may change greatly.

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