Mazda is planning to stop vehicle production in Russia. The Japanese automaker operates a joint plant in Vladivostok with Sollers, a Russian vehicle manufacturing company. In 2021, Mazda sold 30,000 vehicles in Russia – vehicles that were produced within the country.
In March this year, the Japanese vehicle company announced that production would stop at the eastern Russian automotive factory. The company said once the auto components shipped to the plant were finished, production of cars at the factory would cease.
Mazda did not reveal the exact time that production would stop at the plant; neither did it state that auto sales and maintenance would end in Russia. The automaker started vehicle production at the Russian site in 2012 after the country experienced a huge recovery from the 2019 financial crisis.
Mazda started by manufacturing 50,000 vehicles a year at the plant and aimed to ramp up production to 70,000 cars annually. The Mazda 6, Mazda CX 5, and a Sollers vehicle brand were manufactured at the factory and sold in Russia.
Toyota has also indicated that its auto factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, will also be shut down due to the difficulty of obtaining major auto parts since the Putin administration invaded Ukraine.
Hundreds of businesses pulled out of Russia or suspended operations in the country when the country went to war with Ukraine. Most of these companies sacked their workers and couldn’t operate anymore because Russia came under heavy sanctions from many countries and shortages of high-tech equipment ensued.
Mazda has not responded to media queries over the cessation of operations in Russia.