Volvo trucks hauling out of Russia

The Swedish automaker says the measure is not a boycott of the country

Swedish truck maker AB Volvo has stopped all production and sales in Russia due to sanctions over Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, the company announced on Monday.

Spokesman Klaas Eliasson told Swedish state broadcaster SVT that the company does not “have conditions for work in Russia, taking into account the imposed sanctions.” He noted that “there is no boycott of Russia as a nation.”

The measure becomes effective immediately and applies to all deliveries of materials and components to Russia. The decision to stop production in Russia comes after one of AB Volvo’s major component subcontractors, Nordiq, decided last week to stop deliveries to the country.

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Volvo Group generates roughly 3% of its sales in Russia and has one factory in the country.

On Monday, German carmaker Volkswagen temporarily halted deliveries of cars already in Russia to local dealerships, media reported, citing the company’s statement. The automaker was also forced to suspend production at two of its German factories this week due to a delay in parts deliveries from Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russian media reports that at least 20 carmakers have raised prices for cars in the country in February – eight of them within the past week, following the decline of the Russian ruble in the face of Ukraine-related sanctions. The price increase affected Citroen, Mazda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Opel, Peugeot, Renault, and Mercedes-Benz. The head of the Avtostat analytical agency, Sergey Tselikov, recently warned that a number of brands would soon disappear from Russia entirely, while “the car market will be reoriented towards China and Korea.”

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