Nokian Tires Finland on Monday said that the EU’s new sanctions on Russia would significantly hamper its operations in the country and that it would accelerate investment plans for new production capacity in Europe.
The tire manufacturer has been criticized for its decision to continue operations in Russia, while many other international companies have ceased or suspended operations in the country when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
Following the revelation of suspected war crimes by Russian forces, the EU announced new sanctions against Russia last week.
In a statement issued on Monday, Nokia said the sanctions would ban its tire exports from Russia to the EU, ban the import of materials from the EU to Russia, and restrict shipments between Russia and the EU.
"The new sanctions will have a significant impact on Nokian Tires’ ability to manufacture tires in Russia and its ability to sell tires in both Russia and the EU, particularly in Central Europe." the company said.
Last year, about 80 percent of the company’s passenger car tires were manufactured in Russia, and half of the raw materials it used were imported to Russia, according to the company.
Accelerating European production plans
The statement said Nokia had "speed up its plans to invest in new production capacity in Europe," and reiterated its plans to increase production capacity at its plants in Finland and the state of Tennessee in the United States.
"According to our plan, in the future all tires sold in the Nordic countries will be manufactured in Nokia in Finland and all tires sold in North America will be manufactured in Dayton in the United States and Nokia in Finland," the opinion read.
The company said the sanctions did not affect its heavy vehicle tire business, as all of these products are manufactured in Finland, adding that it has previously stopped exporting heavy vehicle tire products to Russia.
"Nokian Tires has never sold tires to the Russian army, and Russia is not a customer of Nokian Tires," Monday’s statement read.
Source: The Nordic Page