The French carmaker Renault has announced that it does not have enough components due to forced problems in the supply chains and has to stop production at its Moscow plant.
The production shutdown is to last from February 28 to March 5. The exact reason is according to company statement “increased controls at the borders of transit countries”, which make it impossible to get as many parts to Russia as would be needed. The representatives of the company did not state which countries.
The French group also on Monday, February 28 stops several production lines at the AvtoVAZ plant in Togliatti, Russia. The cause is a long-term shortage of electronic components. However, AvtoVAZ’s representatives refused to link production to sanctions against Russia, saying only that they continued to monitor the situation.
Renault Group Chief Luca de Meo has previously stated that more than 90 percent of the components used by AvtoVAZ are local, Russian-made. According to CFO Clotilde Delbos, AvtoVAZ is also self-sufficient and financially and does not need money from its owner.
With its Lada brand, AvtoVAZ is the leader in the Russian new car market, and for the Renault Group, Russia is the second largest market after home France. In Russia, it has a market share of almost forty percent.
Industry magazine Automotive News Europe states that sanctions against Russia in connection with its attack on Ukraine may cause the most damage to the European carmakers Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault.
VW and Stellantis have factories in Kaluga, Russia. Large suppliers Magna, Continental and Visteon also operate there. For example, the Škoda Rapid for the Russian market is manufactured here. Stellantis extra in January announced that it wants to export Peugeot Expert, Opel Vivaro and Citroën Jumpy vans in Kaluga from February to Western Europe.
In Russia, cars are also manufactured or assembled by Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and in cooperation with the Sollers company, light commercial Fords are also created here.
How sanctions can affect foreign companies in 2018 was revealed in Iran. The PSA (now Stellantis) and Renault groups then had to close their factories in the country. According to Automotive News Europe, this PSA cost hundreds of thousands of cars in sales numbers.
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