Putin suddenly grants Belgian car designer Russian citizenship

©picture alliance / newscom | Kremlin Press Office

Vladimir Putin has unexpectedly granted Russian citizenship to Belgian car designer Pierre Leclercq. This is evident from an official decree published on the Kremlin’s website. This was reported by the Russian news site Meduza, among others. It's not yet clear exactly why the Belgian top designer is receiving a Russian passport.

Leclercq is no stranger to the automotive world. Between 2001 and 2011, the Belgian worked for BMW, where he helped design some of the brand’s best-known models, including the X5 and X6. He later moved to Great Wall Motors in China and to Kia in South Korea. He has been chief designer at Citroën since 2018, as Stellantis confirmed earlier in a press release.

Is BMW still secretly manufacturing cars in Russia?

The timing of Putin’s decision raises eyebrows. Earlier this week , Auto Motor Sport reported that, despite Western sanctions, BMWs are still being assembled in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad without the German automaker’s permission. The models in question include the X5, X6, and X7. According to the reports, these cars are being built with alternative parts because original components are difficult to obtain. Nevertheless, Russian buyers are still paying substantial amounts for them—in some cases, up to 150,000 euros.

There is no official link between this news and Leclercq’s naturalization. But the timing does fuel speculation. After all, it was Leclercq himself who helped launch the X5 and X6, two models that are reappearing in Russia in an unmodified form.

So far, Leclercq himself has not yet responded to the Kremlin’s unexpected decision. Neither Citroën nor its parent company, Stellantis, has offered an explanation. Thus, we can only speculate about the motives behind Putin’s striking passport decree.

©picture alliance / newscom | Kremlin Press Office