According to a report in Nikkei newspaper, Mazda Motor Corp has begun discussions to end production of its vehicles at a plant in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.
After selling 30,000 cars in Russia over the last year, the Japanese automaker had announced in March, after the conflict in Ukraine began, that it was ending delivering of new parts to the Russian plant, and that production would end whenever the parts inventory at the plant ran out. The plant is a joint venture with Russian carmaker Sollers.
The Japanese automaker has not decided yet whether it will end all car sales and maintenance operations in Russia, and there is no hard plan or timetable on the cessation of production at the Vladivostok plant.
Toyota, a Japanese competitor, announced Friday it would be ending all vehicle production in Russia due to difficulties in securing reliable supply chains of key materials and supplies.
Sanctions and the withdrawal of Western companies following the Russian special operation in Ukraine have caused many factories and production plants to suspend production and furlough workers due to supply chain issues and shortages of high tech equipment.