Ten major car and motorcycle groups have announced factory closures or frozen sales to Russia as the industrial consequences of the country’s invasion of Ukraine spread on Wednesday.
Porsche and BMW became the last carmakers to close European plants due to a lack of parts in Ukraine, while Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai, one of Russia’s largest brands, said they would stop production in the country. Ford, Renault and BMW have already closed Russian plants.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Honda, Bentley, Aston Martin, Harley-Davidson and Rolls-Royce froze sales to Russia, joining a growing list of brands from Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover to Volkswagen.
Only a handful of brands, including Hyundai and Nissan, were still importing cars into the country as of Wednesday night. Avtovaz, which is owned by Renault, was also still selling its Lada brand. Renault has suspended sales while its Moscow plant has closed due to difficulties in supplying parts of Europe.
On Tuesday, Carlos Tavares, head of Stellantis (which owns brands from Jeep and Peugeot to Fiat), said he was determined to continue selling in Russia “as long as sanctions allow it.”
As the Russian invasion began on its seventh day, major parts of Ukraine’s closed plants began to dry up, forcing carmakers across Europe to cut production as they sought new supplies.
At the same time, a growing number of car brands that import into Russia are canceling their sales due to sanctions, non-payment or damage to the reputation of an activity in a country that risks becoming a pariah.
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Bentley and Rolls-Royce’s decision to suspend sales for the country followed a similar announcement by Aston Martin late Tuesday night.
Bentley said the Russian market accounted for about 2% of its business, while Aston said Russia accounted for 1% of sales.
McLaren and Lotus, two other luxury British sports brands, have no business in Russia, the companies told the Financial Times.
Honda, which canceled sales on Wednesday, already said in December 2020 that it plans to leave the Russian market this year.
Porsche, which was still supplying cars to the country on Wednesday, will close its plant in Leipzig, Germany, by the end of next week, the VW-backed sports car brand has announced.
This comes after BMW said late Tuesday night that factories in Munich and Dingolfing in Germany and the Mini plant in the UK will be forced to close next week.
VW, which owns Porsche, has already closed two facilities in Europe and warned of further cuts due to difficulties in supplying parts.
As the flow of components from Ukraine dries up, carmakers are appreciating the best ways to keep their European facilities running.
Another major car brand in Europe told the Financial Times that it had enough parts to keep its factories running until next week, but could be forced to close after that.
Tavares said on Tuesday that the impact on the company’s plants – which include sites in France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom – is currently “very limited” because it supplies fewer parts than Germany’s competitors in Eastern Europe.
Ukraine is a key producer of cable bundles that hold electronic cables in the car. Factories in the country were closed last week.
While other sites in Eastern Europe and North Africa produce similar components, supply chain experts say it will take time for car plants to provide the parts they need, which could include moving some of the equipment from Ukraine.
The Aptiv parts group, which has two Ukrainian facilities, has already moved some kits abroad to other sites to try to maintain production.
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