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All Carmakers That Have Pulled Out of Russia Over the Ukraine Invasion

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started more than two weeks ago, and since then, Vladimir Putin, his closest circle, and pretty much the entire country has been the target of a continuously increasing package of sanctions from the European Union and the United States.
Most automakers have already pulled out of Russia 24 photos
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
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These include measures from freezing the assets of Russian oligarchs to suspending or scaling back the operations in the country, all as a way to increase the pressure on Vladimir Putin to stop the war.

The number of companies pulling out of Russia is increasing on a daily basis, and just as expected, automakers make no exception.

Car manufacturers

BMW was one of the first car manufacturers to publicly stand against the war in Ukraine. The German company announced on March 1 that it’s stopping the production in Russia while also suspending exports to the country until further notice. Worth knowing, however, is that BMW doesn’t operate its own plant in Russia, but it builds cars locally using a collaboration with domestic manufacturer Avtotor.

The move comes at a time when BMW’s sales in Russia were on the rise. Last year, the company sold 46,802 cars in the country, up to no less than 10 percent versus 2020. This allowed BMW to secure the leading spot in the Russian premium car market for the second consecutive year.

BMW originally planned to launch the iX and the i4 in Russia in 2022, but due to the sanctions, the debut will be pushed back indefinitely.

2022 BMW iX xDrive50 for the U\.S\. market
Photo: BMW
Ford too announced on March 1 that it’s suspending operations in Russia. The American company is also operating locally with a joint venture with Soller focused specifically on commercial van manufacturing. Sales in 2021 reached 21,000 vehicles.

The Russian military invading Ukraine also triggered a prompt response from General Motors. The U.S.-based manufacturer, which sells approximately 3,000 Cadillac and Chevrolet vehicles in the country, suspended its operations in Russia, though the company doesn’t produce any models locally. GM’s presence in the country is powered by a Moscow-based national sales company, with vehicles imported from North America and South Korea.

Honda is another big name that decided to stop exporting cars, motorcycles, and pretty much any other products, including general-purpose engines, to Russia. The Japanese company, however, does not have any local manufacturing power, so it relies exclusively on products built in the U.S., Japan, and other countries.

Mazda, whose Russian operations take place with the help of a joint venture with Sollers, will no longer export any vehicles to the country. The local factory assembles the Mazda CX-5, CX-9, and Mazda6 using parts imported from Japan.

Mitsubishi originally announced it was considering suspending the production at its joint venture plant with Stellantis in Russia, but earlier this week, it has confirmed all exports were suspended. In addition to cars, Mitsubishi also sold a wide variety of other products in Russia, including air conditioning and household appliances.

Toyota, which has an assembly factory in St. Petersburg and a sales headquarters in Moscow, not only told all its Japanese employees to leave Russia but also suspended all local operations and exports to the country. Last year, Toyota sold close to 98,000 vehicles (up from 91,598 units in 2020) in Russia, therefore securing a 5.9% share of the local car market.

Nissan claims logistical challenges make it harder for the company to continue the production at its plant in St. Petersburg, so the company now wants to halt all local assembly lines. Exports have already been suspended. The Japanese company sold over 51,000 cars in Russia last year, down from 56,000 vehicles in 2020.

Nissan St Petersburg Russia
Photo: Nissan
Hyundai originally suspended its production at the St. Petersburg factory on March 1, and earlier this week, it confirmed the manufacturing wouldn’t be resumed. Sales of Kia and Hyundai (number two and number three on the Russian car market) reached 373,000 cars in 2021, with the combined performance, therefore, overtaking local leader Lada (whose sales totaled 350,000 units last year).

Both Stellantis and Mercedes suspended all imports and exports earlier this month. Mercedes says it would no longer export any passenger cars and vans to Russia, while its manufacturing power in the country would also go offline. Last year, Mercedes sold over 43,000 vehicles in Russia, up from close to 39,000 units in 2020. The German company also wants to give up on the 15% stake it owns in Kamaz.

Volkswagen Group took a similar decision in early March, with all exports and local production power for VW, Skoda, Audi, Porsche, and Bentley brands suspended indefinitely. The group’s sales in Russia in 2021 reached 216,000 vehicles, which represents 2.4 percent of all sales worldwide.

Porsche, which has also suspended the production of several models in Germany due to the impact the war has been having on the supply chain, stopped shipping any cars to Russia in early March. The company sold 6,262 vehicles in the country in 2021.

Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin, Harley-Davidson, and Daimler Truck all suspended their Russian operations as well.

Renault is the only big carmaker that is yet to abandon its Russian operations, pretty much because it’s concerned the decision would affect the collaboration with its local partner. Renault holds a majority stake in AvtoVaz, which helped it sell over 131,500 vehicles in Russia last year.

Bosch, Bridgestone, and Pirelli haven’t announced any changes for their Russian operations. Both Bridgestone and Pirelli manufacture tires at local plants.

Tech giants

Technology companies have one by one left Russia while also announcing a series of additional measures following the invasion of Ukraine.

Apple no longer sells any product in Russia, and it also disabled certain Apple Maps features in Ukraine specifically to protect the civilians from the Russian military. Apple Pay has also been limited in Russia, with Apple suspending online transactions too.

Google suspended its advertising business and a series of payment-related services. While YouTube, Gmail, and Google Search continue to be available for Russians, subscriptions can no longer be renewed for payment-based platforms, such as YouTube Premium. Billing on Google Play Store has also been banned.

Microsoft has stopped offering any products and services in Russia, and the company recently announced it would help Ukrainian software engineers defend the country against cybersecurity attacks.

IBM, too, suspended all business in Russia, and so did Intel, Nvidia, PayPal, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Amazon, Adobe, Oracle, and Dell.

Facebook and Twitter have decided to restrict some Russian-backed news sources. All services continue to be available for Russians, but the local government has recently decided to ban them anyway.

Nintendo no longer sells any games in the country, while Snapchat keeps its services alive but stopped allowing any ad sales.

Other companies

Warner Bros. confirmed The Batman wouldn’t be released in Russia, and all local operations would be suspended. Disney, Sony, and Universal also confirmed no new releases would take place in the country.

When it comes to fashion, Russia has been abandoned by lots of big names, including H&M, Zara, Puma, and Nike. Furthermore, Adidas gave up on its partnership with the Russian football federation.

Hermes and Ikea closed all their stores in the country, while Airbnb stopped all their operations in Russia and Belarus while also offering free temporary housing to Ukrainian refugees.

Goldman Sachs closed its Russian offices and called all employees home while dating app Bumble removed its apps from the stores in Russia and Belarus.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
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Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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