Carmakers shut factories and freeze sales as invasion fallout spreads

Ten major car and motorcycle groups announced factory closings or freezing sales to Russia as the industrial repercussions from the country's invasion of Ukraine spread on Wednesday.

Toyota, Mercedes-Benz andHyundai, which are some of the largest brands in Russia, said they would cease manufacturing in the country because of a lack of parts from Ukraine. Ford, BMW and other companies have closed their Russian plants.

Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Honda, Bentley, Harley- Davidson, and Rolls-Royce are just some of the brands that have stopped selling to Russia.

As of Wednesday evening, only a few brands were still bringing vehicles to the country. The Lada brand was still being sold by Avtovaz. Due to difficulties in getting parts from Europe, the Moscow plant has been shut down.

As long as the sanctions allow it, the chief of Stellantis said he was determined to keep selling into the country.

With the Russian invasion running into its seventh day, essential parts from closed Ukrainian plants have begun to dry up, forcing carmakers across Europe to curtail production while they seek to secure new supplies.

More and more car brands are canceling sales in Russia because of sanctions, lack of payment, and other problems, as well as the risk of becoming a pariah in the country.

Both Rolls-Royce and Bentley decided to suspend sales to the country.

The Russian market accounted for 2 percent of the business, while the other said it was 1 percent of sales.

McLaren and Lotus do not have sales operations in Russia, according to the companies.

In December 2020, Honda said it would leave the Russian market this year.

The VW-backed sports car brand announced that it will close its factory in Germany until the end of next week.

The Mini plant in the UK and BMW factories in Germany will be closing next week.

VW warned of further cuts because of difficulty in finding parts, after shutting down two facilities in Europe.

As the component flow from Ukraine dries up, carmakers are assessing the best ways to keep their European facilities running.

According to the Financial Times, a major car brand in Europe has enough parts to keep its factories running until next week, but may have to close.

The impact on the company's plants, which include sites across France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK, is currently very limited.

Ukranian producers of wiring harnesses hold the electronic cables within a car. The country has been shut down for a week.

Supply chain experts say it will take time for car plants to source the parts they need, which may involve moving equipment out of the country.

Some kit has been moved out of the country to other locations in order to maintain production.

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