London: Toyota Motor Corp. <7203> said Friday that it will end vehicle production in Russia due to supply chain disruptions from the conflict in Ukraine.

The Japanese automaker also plans to stop vehicle sales in Russia, company officials said.

Toyota became the first major Japanese automaker to decide to end production in Russia.

Among Japanese rivals, Nissan Motor Co. <7201>, Mazda Motor Corp. <7261> and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. <7211> build vehicles in Russia.

Toyota’s plant in St. Petersburg, northwestern Russia, has suspended operations since March as Western sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine disrupted supply chains. The company has also suspended vehicle exports to Russia.

Toyota said that over the past six months, the company has kept the plant ready to restart production if circumstances allow. “However…we…see no indication that we can restart in the future,” it said in a statement.

The plant will be sold, the Toyota officials said. The automaker last shut down an overseas foothold in October 2017 when it closed its plant in Australia.

Toyota will provide employees at the St. Petersburg plant with additional retirement benefits and re-employment assistance.

The automaker said it will continue providing ongoing service to existing Toyota and Lexus customers in Russia.

The St. Petersburg plant builds the RAV4 compact SUV and the Camry sedan for sales in Russia. It made about 80,000 vehicles last year. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a ceremony to mark the plant’s opening in 2007.

JIJI Press