GM has announced it will extend the suspension of its business operations in Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In a statement published via the Chevrolet Russia press site on Tuesday, the automaker confirmed it will not facilitate vehicle imports or conduct any commercial activity in the country for the foreseeable future.
“Due to the crisis in Ukraine and resulting US and international sanctions, GM is taking further actions to extend the suspension of operations in Russia,” the automaker said. “GM suspended vehicle imports and commercial activity in Russia on February 28. As the situation continues to worsen, the company has decided to extend the suspension of the GM Russia business.”
GM spokesman George Svigos told The Detroit Free Press the automaker typically sells about 3,000 imported vehicles a year in Russia between its Chevrolet and Cadillac brands. The automaker no longer operates manufacturing plants in the country after it sold its 50 percent stake in the AvtoVAZ joint venture in 2019. GM previously produced a small number of Chevrolet-branded Lada vehicles through its AvtoVAZ joint venture at a facility located in St. Petersburg.
The American automaker also operates a commercial office located in Russia’s capital of Moscow, where roughly 66 employees work. It plans to lay off the employees in the near future and will offer them severance packages. A small team of employees could be retained to maintain the office there, according to The Detroit Free Press.
“Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine at this time,” GM said in a statement released at the beginning of March. “The loss of life is a tragedy and our overriding concern is for the safety of people in the region.”
In addition to GM, its crosstown rivals over at Ford and Stellantis have also suspended business operations in Russia. Stellantis has halted sales in the region and suspended production at its Kaluga manufacturing plant. Ford no longer operates manufacturing plants in Russia but enjoys strong sales of its Transit commercial van there. The Dearborn-based automaker halted all commercial operations in Russia, including Transit sales, at the beginning of March.
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My pal Vladdy has made such a mess of things, he deserves an honorary Trump University degree.
So if there's a Russian who loves the West and bought an American vehicle, how does he get it serviced?
So if there’s a Russian oligarch who can afford the cost and large tariffs on an imported American vehicle, how does he get it serviced?
Fixed that for you.
So GM was catering to 3,000 oligarchs per year in Russia? Is that the story we're going with to justify this?
How many cars do you think are sold in Russia? It was around 1.5 million per year.
So yes, GM's 3,000 cars per year is most definitely positioned for the elite.
Ignoring that fact, who can afford an American SUV or Camaro in a country where the median household income is $6500?
You're including undeveloped land, which of course will lower the median household income. The average salary in Moscow is at least double with higher jobs (doctors, software engineer, pharmacists, etc,) earning more. Those people can most certainly afford a Chevy Trailblazer, so your comment about only oligarchs buying them is completely wrong. Just imagine if a normal Russian citizen bought a Trailblazer and now they're without service. What message does that send to Russians? Can American products be trusted? Or should their next purchase be Russian or Chinese?
I'm making a point about the car market and yet most people are clamoring to ding Russia. It's honestly sad.
Yes, because undeveloped land earns so little....
Median household income is median household income, it doesn't matter where the earner is located (land, by the way is not included in the calculation). And, yes, as is the case everywhere, people in urban areas earn more than people in rural areas.
As for what three thousand customers will do for service, they'll do what they're doing now -- go to a mechanic. And if we lose three thousand sales a year to the Chinese, well, guess what? That was going to happen, anyway.
Amazing how eager some people are to protect Russia these days. It's almost as if they think it'll help them get their guy back into office here. The very definition of "scary proposition"....
My point is the people who are going to afford a Trailblazer, while not being your typical Russian, will not be oligarchs. Just like Sonic's friend who is obviously not one. It's not all oligarchs and poverty. There is a middle class in Russia.
But I seriously don't care if this situation was about Russians or Martians. I was asking about GM's reputation being irreparably harmed if they prove to be unreliable in a different country. If GM announced it was done servicing its cars in America, do you think people would simply "go to a mechanic" and smile, or do you think they would stop buying GM vehicles? I'm commenting on the car market, but I'm getting politicized answers about oligarchs and impoverished Russians that don't address what I'm discussing.
I don't speak about politics here for various reasons (one being cars are a nice distraction), but to candid, people are living very insulated lives. I doubt I'd get these responses if GM stopped servicing their cars in any other country. There's something about Russia that gets people to reflexively lash out. These are not your original ideas or thoughts.
But GM isn't going to stop servicing cars in other countries. Because other countries aren't invading their neighbors and threatening the rest of the world with nuclear assault if they try to help. Just Russia is doing this. Pretty sure the mitigating circumstances will take care of any PR hits GM sustains by not servicing recently-sold cars in Russia for a while.
Of course GM determined it was worth losing their reputation in Russia by suspending services rather than losing their reputation elsewhere by staying. That was a business decision that must have made fiscal sense to them, but the Russian people didn't make the decision to invade. That was done by the government, yet the people who suffer from GM's decision are the ones who bought their product and trusted GM with an important investment. They're going to see GM as a flakey business.
Today it's Russia. Tomorrow it could be China, or Hungary, or somewhere else. The world is volatile, and that's just how life is right now. But if conflicts and hotspots continue to grow, then GM needs to reconsider its tactic of pulling out of countries because it objects to the government's policies. Otherwise, it will tarnish its reputation worldwide.
Yes, the world is, and always has been, a dangerous place. Still, very few countries are run by madmen with nukes. It's a pretty small club right now, but it could grow by at least one thanks to us pulling out of the JCPA. Either way, I don't think pulling out of Russia, North Korea, or Iran will do much damage to GM's reputation. China would be a different story, but China's not run by a madman, and China has way more to lose, so maybe we won't have to deal with that.
GM isn't in North Korea or Iran, so they can't pull out of those nations even if they wanted to. But my point is simple: GM can't stop servicing their vehicles everywhere every time America gets upset about politics. You say China is different, but what if America and China have a falling out? Will GM refuse to service their vehicles? It's a real question. I'm not getting into the politics here, but the chance of further Ukraine-like events in the near future is not exactly 0. GM is going to need to decide what its policy is very soon and how it affects its customers.
Are you serious? "GM needs to reconsider its tactic of pulling out of countries because it objects to the government’s policies."
Russia declaring war on and destroying an innocent Country is not a reason to cease doing business with them?
"Russia declaring war on and destroying an innocent Country is not a reason to cease doing business with them?"
Think about what you're suggesting. Your solution is to punish every Russian citizen who bought a GM vehicle by refusing to service it. I know you think this makes a statement, but think of what it really does. The people who bought GM cars are (or rather, once were) already more pro-American than your typical Russian citizen. Now GM just told them that they don't want their business, so if your goal was to win people over to your side then it just backfired. If your goal was to push Russians into China's arms, then you've wildly succeeded and ought to continue to doing it.
Think about this policy. Does refusing to service GM products stop Putin? Not a chance. So what is it really about? Some might argue it's to convince Russian GM owners to attack Putin, but it's not. It's GM simply trying to avoid boycotts at home because people like you demand they do this. That's it. So they put on a brave face and say it's about being moral when it's really about money. But it's still a loss. GM has proved they will ditch their customer base when they believe it is expedient. It's a very bad precedent. It also suggests all citizens are to be punished for their government's actions. Think about the recent governments in your country, whichever country that is. Do you want to be held to that standard?
My only comment about this is I think we need to not be naive about blanket opposition to Russia. Our fight is with Putin alone. Our fight is also alongside Russians like that reporter who held up the “no war” sign on Russian TV, and is allegedly serving community service, though we all know she’s probably at the bottom of a river.
My worry is that while it’s “cool” to oppose Russia is all aspects, I’m afraid especially with some of the more radical instances of throwing Russian actors out of theaters, banning them from running the Boston marathon or burning all Russian imported vodka will make putins claim that the west is trying to eradicate Russian culture ring true and send them running into the arms of that madman.
We need to fight for the freedom of Ukraine AND RUSSIANS. Not kickstart WW3
So we pretend everything is okay? What, exactly, would you propose be done?
Donate all proceeds to Ukrainian and Russian families who loose loved ones in, and put exceptional emphasis on this “putins war.” Let’s make this like the Christmas of 1916 where British and German troops climbed out of their trenches and celebrated the holy night together as they truly were-brothers.
Give Ukraine all the help it needs to win this war!
Like all wars, the innocent citizens are the ones that end up paying the price for their leaders' decisions.
The only way to get the Russian public's attention is to cut off all relations with them, their businesses, their travel, their sports, their commerce----everything.
That's the only way to get their attention with the hope enough will take action leading to the demise of their criminal leader.
That is not even close to the price Ukraine is paying.
Bidumb! Yer so clever! More cleverer than anyone else on here!
They're likely afraid of contacting people outside of Russia because of what might happen to them if they're caught saying things that detract from Russia's official position. That's the point. Russia is run by an autocrat, a dictator. We can't pretend that everything is okay in Russia, because it isn't. Sadly, only the Russian people can change things in Russia, and that doesn't seem likely, given the armed forces the Russian dictator has at his disposal -- and his willingness to use them.
It would take a lot of intestinal fortitude to be a Russian who stands up to the dictator.
Yeah! I'm nowhere near as clever as you are on here! Neither is anyone else on here! You're the bestest posterer ever on here! Nobody on here is even close to bringing what you bring on here!