AvtoVAZ has not been paid for almost 7,000 of its Lada cars, which analysts estimate could cost the near-bankrupt carmaker some US$50m, and is chasing dealers for the lost revenue.
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AvtoVAZ, 25% owned by French car maker Renault , on Monday told Reuters was trying to find out if it was still possible to recover the money and would unveil the results of its investigation in December.
Minority shareholders in AvtoVAZ have repeatedly complained about the firm’s often obscure relations with its dealers, which have occasionally involved violent settling of scores in AvtoVAZ’s home town of Togliatti.
“This news once again confirms that AvtoVAZ badly needs to improve its internal efficiency if it intends to turn its performance around,” analysts from VTB Capital said in a research note.
The firm, which has received RUB25bn (US$859.7m) of state aid this year to stay afloat, said it had not been paid for 5,094 cars by one of its bankrupt dealers.
Some 1,800 units were supplied to other dealers but the firm did not say whether the dealers did not pay or if AvtoVAZ did not charge them.
AvtoVAZ has tried for a long time to get upfront payments from all dealers before giving them the cars, but the scheme often doesn’t work, Sergei Tselikov from car industry researcher Avtostat told Reuters.
AvtoVAZ’s new management, appointed in August, pledged to review – with the help of Renault – its relations with dealers as part of the measures to avoid bankruptcy.
Dmitry Gulin from Russia’s association of car dealers said AvtoVAZ had been losing track of large numbers of cars since the early 1990s. “The fact that the firm has started publishing information about car losses is a good sign. I hope the new management plan to actively fight against it,” he said.
The number of cars not paid for represents about 1.7% of AvtoVAZ’s expected output of 408,000 units this year.
“Cars disappeared in relation to 10 enterprises (dealers) so we cannot jump to conclusions that AvtoVAZ’s entire service and dealers network comprising some 440 centres is out of control,” AvtoVAZ said.
Tselikov said it could cost AvtoVAZ some RUB1.5bn ($51.89m) in lost revenue.
