Nissan’s plant in St. Petersburg is halting work for six months
Japanese automaker Nissan has decided to suspend production in Russia for the first half of the fiscal year, which started on April 1, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing CEO Makoto Uchida.
“We believe this situation could become more serious and prolonged,” a spokesman quoted Uchida as saying at Nissan’s annual general meeting, referring to the conflict in Ukraine and the Western sanctions on Russia.
The automaker had already suspended production at its plant in St. Petersburg in March, and halted exports to Russia, citing logistics risks due to the sanctions.
According to Uchida, Nissan’s Russian employees were informed about the suspension, and the company will continue to monitor the situation in order to minimize its consequences.
Last month, Uchida said the company’s St. Petersburg plant is unlikely to resume work in 2022, and the automaker wrote off its Russian business in the forecast for the current fiscal year. According to Automotive News, Nissan’s Russian plant produces Qashqai, X-Trail, and Murano models.
Japanese automaker Toyota also suspended the production of cars in Russia, citing difficulties with the purchase of imported spare parts due to sanctions. Neither Nissan nor Toyota have indicated plans to leave Russia entirely.
According to Reuters, only 2.4% of Japanese companies operating in Russia have terminated their business in the country since the Ukraine crisis began, which is the lowest percentage among the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies.
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