Ukraine-Russia war: Stellantis suspends auto import and export with Russia

Stellantis has become the latest auto manufacturer to suspend all imports and exports from Russia to comply with the provisions of the sanctions imposed by Western countries following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest automaker with brands like Jeep, Citroen, Fiat among others under it, said in a statement on Thursday that it had suspended all exports of cars to Russia as well as all imports from Russia.

The company issued a press release that says, “We have a task force to make sure we comply with all sanctions and export controls that are decided by the day. Our CEO has made clear public statements against all forms of violence. At Stellantis we condemn violence and aggression and, in this time of unprecedented pain, our priority is the health and safety of our Ukrainian employees and families. We hope that peace will return quickly to build a new future."

The statement also adds, ““We are giving our colleagues in Ukraine all the support we can: in addition to the salaries, an exceptional supplement has been paid, helping them to move out of the country. We also help them with logistics within Ukraine and beyond the borders."

Stellantis owns a plant in Kaluga, Russia, in partnership with Mitsubishi, where it makes vans. The facility employs more than 2,500 employees. “The operations will stop because there’s simply no more parts," said Carlos Tavares, chief executive of Stellantis.

Aluminium and palladium both hit record highs this week while nickel, which is also used to make stainless steel, crossed the $100,000-a-tonne level for the first time ever on Tuesday. This not only has pushed up prices of raw material for vehicle manufacturing, but also impacted supply chain due to the crisis. Tavares had earlier said, “First, what happens is that we have an escalation of cost that comes from raw materials and energy that is going to put more pressure on the business model."

Stellantis' decision to stop car trade with Russia comes 10 days after Tavares had set up a task force to conform with any sanctions and monitor its staff in Ukraine. Tavares said its business in Russia represented around 20 million euros ($22.4 million) in terms of results, and that its staff in Ukraine were safe as of the last update.