Photo: Toyota
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Russia was founded in June 2005 with the sole purpose of serving the Russian as well as possible with the Camry and RAV4. Due to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, the Japanese automaker decided to suspend manufacturing operations in Saint Petersburg in March 2022, most likely hoping that the invasion in Ukraine would end soon and they would go back to building RU-spec cars.
Unfortunately for that short guy in the Kremlin and the Japanese automaker, the Ukrainian army and partisans held their ground. The southern counteroffensive that began three weeks ago is a testament to their steadfastness. The engagements in the Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts also showed how poorly trained the Russian army is. Low morale and old gear didn’t help the Russians either, which is why Putin decided to mobilize approximately 300,000 reservists in a major escalation of his conflict.
Since Toyota suspended manufacturing operations in this part of the world, they’ve been closely monitoring the situation, evaluating the future sustainability of the business. The company retained its workforce during these past six months, ensuring that its vehicle plant is ready to restart production if the circumstances allow for it. Better late than never, Toyota has finally admitted that it sees no indication for a restart in the future.
“We must now act in a way that allows us to protect the values and principles that our predecessors built up and be confident that we can pass them on to the next generation." Using pompous words such as values and principles in this context is shameful of Toyota, especially if you remember that Renault caved in to public pressure, selling their Russian operations for one rouble.
Even though vehicle production has come to a screeching halt, Toyota isn’t leaving Russia for good. “We have also determined that our operations in Moscow need to be optimized and restructured – with the clear objective of retaining an effective organization to continue supporting the retail network in providing ongoing service to existing Toyota and Lexus customers.”
On that note, remember that a wise man famously said that Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.
Since Toyota suspended manufacturing operations in this part of the world, they’ve been closely monitoring the situation, evaluating the future sustainability of the business. The company retained its workforce during these past six months, ensuring that its vehicle plant is ready to restart production if the circumstances allow for it. Better late than never, Toyota has finally admitted that it sees no indication for a restart in the future.
“We must now act in a way that allows us to protect the values and principles that our predecessors built up and be confident that we can pass them on to the next generation." Using pompous words such as values and principles in this context is shameful of Toyota, especially if you remember that Renault caved in to public pressure, selling their Russian operations for one rouble.
Even though vehicle production has come to a screeching halt, Toyota isn’t leaving Russia for good. “We have also determined that our operations in Moscow need to be optimized and restructured – with the clear objective of retaining an effective organization to continue supporting the retail network in providing ongoing service to existing Toyota and Lexus customers.”
On that note, remember that a wise man famously said that Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.
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