The Japanese company Mazda is considering stopping the production of its vehicles at a joint factory in Vladivostok in eastern Russia, the Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported today. The Japanese automaker, which sold 30,000 cars in Russia last year, said in March that the export of parts to the factory was about to end and production would stop when the stock runs out. Mazda operates the plant with the Russian car manufacturer Sollers.
Mazda has not yet made a decision about stopping the sale and maintenance of the cars in Russia, according to the newspaper. The time frame for stopping production at the Vladivostok plant was not specified. Mazda’s competitor, Toyota, said yesterday that it had decided to stop vehicle production in Russia due to the disruption in the supply of key materials and parts.
Many factories in Russia have shut down production and laid off workers due to a lack of technological equipment due to sanctions and the departure of Western manufacturers from the country since Moscow sent military forces to Ukraine on February 24.
“Our priority is the need to transfer production to Russian territory,” Shamkov said, according to Tass, which also reported that he wanted to increase Chery’s sales in Russia to about 80,000 to 100,000 cars in 2022.