Toyota is confirming Sollers-Bussan has stopped SKD production of the Land Cruiser Prado in Vladivostok, Russia.
A statement from Toyota sent to just-auto noted: “Sollers-Bussan, Sollers, Mitsui and Toyota have thoroughly investigated various business schemes including shifting to CKD production and found them not viable from a sustainable business perspective. Finally the four parties agreed to terminate production at Sollers-Bussan.
“The Land Cruiser Prado for Russian market will be completely switched to CBU import from Japan and its supply will not be affected by this closure of the project.
“Furthermore, the decision does not impact Toyota’s mid- to long-term commitment to the Russian market and we have not changed our plans to double production capacity within this year and launch the RAV4 at TMR-SP in 2016.
“We are committed to continuing our contribution to the development of the Russian automobile industry and providing products that satisfy consumers.”
The news comes as Russia continues to endure economic turmoil amid a tumbling oil price and rouble devaluation, leading the automotive sector to post consistently falling monthly sales figures.