Stellantis suspends vehicle production in Russia

Stellantis – the automotive group behind brands such as Peugeot and Citroen – has suspended its manufacturing operations in Russia.

It follows on from a number of other car manufacturers that have also had to postpone operations in the country due to the ongoing Ukraine conflict, with companies such as Honda suspending exports to Russia, while Jaguar Land Rover has paused delivery of vehicles too.

In a statement, Stellantis said: “Given the rapid daily increase in cross sanctions and logistical difficulties, Stellantis has suspended its manufacturing operations in Kaluga to ensure full compliance with all cross sanctions and to protect its employees.

“Stellantis condemns violence and supports all actions capable of restoring peace.”

The automotive group operates a production site in the Russian city of Kaluga, around 125 miles southeast of Moscow. Here, the firm’s medium-size vans are built for the Russian market. When the PA news agency spoke to Stellantis in March, it said: “We have one plant in Russia at Kaluga. We build a medium van here and, in 2021, produced 11,000 of them. To contextualise this, we build two million vans per year globally.”

Back in March, Stellantis pledged a donation of €1 million (£829m) to help Ukrainian refugees and civilians, supporting those who had been displaced by the war.

Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO, said at the time: “Stellantis condemns violence and aggression and, in this time of unprecedented pain, our priority is the health and safety of our Ukrainian employees and families.

“An aggression that shook a world order, already unsettled by uncertainty, has been launched. The Stellantis community, made of 170 nationalities, looks with dismay as civilians flee the country.

“Even if the scale of casualties is not yet apparent, the human toll will be unbearable.”