NOKIA, Finland—Nokian Tyres, P.L.C. may be shifting tire production out of Russia, but don't expect the tire maker to halt operations all together.
Nokian will continue operating its passenger car tire production plant in Vsevolozhsk, Russia, while "actively looking for additional capacity" elsewhere, stating it's better for the factory to remain in its control amid President Vladimir Putin's threats of nationalization.
"By continuing to operate the passenger car tire factory in Russia we want to make sure that the factory is operated and controlled by Nokian Tyres also in the future," the tire maker said.
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Nokian was among the first companies to react to the Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying in late February that it was implementing previous plans to mitigate potential disruptions by moving main production lines from Russia to Finland and the U.S.
"We no longer invest into the Russian production," the Finnish tire maker emphasized in its March 22 statement, adding it is accelerating plans to increase production capacity at its factories in Finland and the U.S.