World’s Top Car Companies Leaving Russia

What’s an automobile-based crisis more stressful than trying to find a lemon law attorney on short notice? In the case of Russia, it happens to be the fact that car manufacturers are leaving their country in droves following the decision to invade Ukraine. They might all have cited different specific reasons, and the extent to which they’re ceasing operations may vary, but the fact remains that, for the foreseeable future, the following automakers have withdrawn from Russia (at least in part) in the light of Western sanctions…

Ford

Ford had manufacturing operations in Russia, and now that’s all come to halt, along with their local imports. Ford cited humanitarian concerns and their responsibility to the global community as reasons for cutting back business with Russia. While sales in the country represent less than a single percent of their totals, the automaker still saw it fit to make this decision until peace and stability are restored to Europe.

Renault

Renault is a French manufacturer, in case you weren’t aware. They had three manufacturing plants in Russia, and while they will still be selling cars to the country, those plants won’t be making anything for the time being. Russian sales accounted for nearly twenty percent of Renault’s yearly totals, so a not-insignificant proportion of their sales will be impacted.

Volvo

Volvo doesn’t have any Russian manufacturing plants, nor does it plan on expanding manufacturing to the region. They will, however, be suspending exports to Russia, with their justification being sanctions combined with supply chain difficulties. It’s risky, they’ve reasoned, and that’s more than enough reason to ditch the 1.5 percent of their total sales and cease involvement in what is, for the moment, a volatile region.

Toyota

Japanese automaker Toyota has a long history of producing reliable cars, but that history is going to be taking a pause in Russia. In addition to shutting down their factory in St. Petersburg, Toyota has clamped down on all imports into Russia on account of those pesky supply chain disruptions. Russian sales are about one percent of Toyota’s totals, but they also build nearly 100,000 vehicles in the country, so the move is not insignificant.

Honda

Would you believe that Honda was already preparing to make its exit from Russia? While Honda has no plants in the country, they were winding down on making sales (which, admittedly, don’t account for much). The invasion only pushed up their timetable.

GM

General Motors, parent company of brands like Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC, doesn’t normally make a lot of sales in Russia. That said, they’ve acknowledged the plight of the Ukrainian people and, as an official move, have halted their vehicle exports to Russia.

BMW

Compared to other companies on this list, BMW does a lot more business in Russia—it accounts for 2.3 percent of their total sales, in fact. Still, the situation has forced BMW to change their plans, and they’ve decided to cease exports to Russia in addition to suspending their own local manufacturing efforts until further notice.