Photo: BMW Russia on Instagram
BMW takes an important stand as a carmaker with regard to what’s happening right now in Eastern Europe. The Bavarians are stopping production in Russia and are halting the exports. Here’s what we know so far.
Initially, we were told that BMW and other premium-luxury manufacturers only suspended deliveries. This seemed normal, given what’s currently happening in that part of the world. Now the German automaker has decided it will stop its production effort in Kaliningrad and won’t approve any more exports for Russia.
Only a month ago, BMW said it will continue its partnership with Avtotor, which has been in force since 1999 and will keep making X5s, X6s, X7s, and the 5 Series as part of a 32 billion rubles agreement.
On February 28, BMW said its “business activities in Russia” were “under review,” and a decision was expected in a day or so. Now we know the carmaker has decided: no more made in Russia BMWs and no new cars for the country. We’ll have to see how long this will last.
For now, there’s no official public statement that’s confirmed by corporate BMW. We rely only on what a spokesperson quoted by WSJ said. “Due to the current geopolitical situation, we will stop our local production and export for the Russian market until further notice,” said a BMW PR person. A press release might soon follow.
A second confirmation came from Joe Miller, a Frankfurt-based Financial Times correspondent. It looks like the press asked about BMW’s plans and got some answers before the company went public with its new plans for Russia, and Reuters also confirmed the story.
MINI will also be affected by this decision. The scale of it is yet to be known.
Unlike BMW, Aston Martin has put out a statement and said their “primary concern is the safety and wellbeing of their partners and customers “in Kyiv.” The British carmaker is doing the same as the Germans and confirms “a pause” in sales and shipments to Russia.
BMW also faced losses in 2014, when another crisis happened in Ukraine.
Only a month ago, BMW said it will continue its partnership with Avtotor, which has been in force since 1999 and will keep making X5s, X6s, X7s, and the 5 Series as part of a 32 billion rubles agreement.
On February 28, BMW said its “business activities in Russia” were “under review,” and a decision was expected in a day or so. Now we know the carmaker has decided: no more made in Russia BMWs and no new cars for the country. We’ll have to see how long this will last.
For now, there’s no official public statement that’s confirmed by corporate BMW. We rely only on what a spokesperson quoted by WSJ said. “Due to the current geopolitical situation, we will stop our local production and export for the Russian market until further notice,” said a BMW PR person. A press release might soon follow.
A second confirmation came from Joe Miller, a Frankfurt-based Financial Times correspondent. It looks like the press asked about BMW’s plans and got some answers before the company went public with its new plans for Russia, and Reuters also confirmed the story.
MINI will also be affected by this decision. The scale of it is yet to be known.
Unlike BMW, Aston Martin has put out a statement and said their “primary concern is the safety and wellbeing of their partners and customers “in Kyiv.” The British carmaker is doing the same as the Germans and confirms “a pause” in sales and shipments to Russia.
BMW also faced losses in 2014, when another crisis happened in Ukraine.
BMW suspends all sales and exports in Russia. Aston Martin confirms it wont sell in Russia either. Too bad most of the oligarchs buy their motors in London.
— Joe Miller (@JoeMillerJr) March 1, 2022
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